Spot the difference: The Battle of Britain 50p that has caused a stir!

The 2015 50p was issued to commemorate the 75th anniversary of the Battle of Britain and quickly earned recognition in the collecting world.

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Not only has the design by sculptor Gary Breeze enjoyed a positive reception from the public, it is also the first UK commemorative coin to be issued with three different obverses.

Have you found the 2015 Battle of Britain 50p in your change and seen the differences for yourself?

*** UPDATE ***

In 2019, to mark both the 75th anniversary of D Day and the 50th Anniversary of the 50p, The Royal Mint reissued the Battle of Britain 50p as part of the 50p Military Set.

Therefore, we can now say that this coin officially has four different obverses!

This latest addition features Jody Clark’s portrait of Queen Elizabeth II with the denomination and with the reissue date of 2019.

The 50p Military Set includes five 50p coins which were issued in the last 50 years to mark some of Britain’s most significant military moments and each coin has been struck in Brilliant Uncirculated quality.

An error or was this intentional?

The Brilliant Uncirculated 50p was issued early in 2015 and was quickly dubbed an error coin. The coins, which were sold in presentation packs, had been struck without the denomination in either numbers or writing anywhere on the coin. Chancers were quick to strike with some managing to sell on the coins for near to £100 each.

After the controversy surrounding the coin erupted, the Royal Mint confirmed that the 50p intended for circulation later on in the year would have the ’50 PENCE’ denomination. But was this after they had realised their mistake?

So why did this coin end up with three different obverses?

Each version of this coin has caused a stir in the collecting world. Not only does this Battle of Britain 50p fail to feature a denomination on the Brilliant Uncirculated version, but each obverse is different – a first for a UK commemorative coin.


The UK Battle of Britain 50p 

Click here to own the highly sought after Battle of Britain 50p.

6 Comments

  1. Leena Mistry on March 8, 2016 at 9:08 pm

    Hello. I have The Battle of Britain 1940 2015 50p coin how much is that worth please.



    • Yasmin Britton on March 9, 2016 at 8:19 am

      Hi Leena, the 2015 Battle of Britain 50p entered into circulation late last year and have only just started to turn up in our change, although there are still many collectors searching for it. Until the mintage figures are released we wont know how rare the coin is, so definitely worth keeping hold of it! Thanks, Yasmin



  2. Eddie Whitehead on March 3, 2016 at 12:29 pm

    I like that you call the people who sold some Battle of Britain 50p’s for £100. Yet you are selling the trio for £145? I’ll get them from the Royal Mint for £116.45.



  3. Francis jeba on March 2, 2016 at 5:44 pm

    Hi friends ,
    I have 1997 queen Elizabeth second – bailiwick of Jersey fifty pence. I want to sell this
    Thanks
    [email protected]



  4. Donna poskitt on February 22, 2016 at 10:49 am

    hi
    I have 4 ancient coins (3 which are silver and the other a bronze/silver mix), I am wanting to sell them to get some money, but as they were left to me by my late father, am not sure what price to expect? Could you help please?
    Thankyou donna



  5. Andy Barnes on February 20, 2016 at 8:15 am

    WOW – what a story !! Thank you Yasmin for telling me this, personally i cannot wait to find these and add them to my collection. They will look great side by side in my collection album + will even keep Mr Chris Henry Perkins busy for his next edition – decimal issues of the United Kingdom. Tell me though Yasmin ?, are you a numismatic collector !!!