Posts Tagged ‘Rare coin’
To collect, or not to collect…the Shakespeare £2 coins!
The answer, of course, is to collect!
Seasoned collectors will know that the 2016 Shakespeare £2 coins are some of the most popular coins in circulation. This isn’t only because they celebrate the most influential literary figure in British history, but because of their intriguing designs and interesting mintage figures.
The Shakespeare £2 coins were issued in 2016 to mark the 400th anniversary of the death of playwright, poet and actor, William Shakespeare. Each of the 3 coins honours a different genre of Shakespeare’s works – tragedies, comedies and histories.
Tragedies
The Shakespeare Tragedies £2 is inspired by Shakespeare’s most famous tragedies such as Hamlet, Othello, Macbeth and Romeo and Juliet. The design, by John Bergdahl, features a skull from the iconic scene in Hamlet where the Prince speaks to the skull of dead court jester, Yorick, lamenting over the fragility of life and the inevitability of death. Next to the skull is a rose, representing Romeo and Juliet.
The edge inscription even reads ‘WHAT A PIECE OF WORK IS A MAN’ – the start of a well know quote from Hamlet.
Histories
This coin pays tribute to Shakespeare’s historical plays. It carries the edge inscription ‘THE HOLLOW CROWN’ and features a crown and dagger design. The crown represents the seven different kings who were titular characters in Shakespeare’s historical plays, and the sword is a symbols of the battles and wars that took place in many of these stories.
Comedies
The Comedies £2 features a design of a cap and bells with a Jester’s stick, taking inspiration from Shakespeare’s most famous comedy play – A Midsummer Night’s Dream.
It features the edge inscription ‘ALL THE WORLDS A STAGE’, a quote from As You Like It.
Did you know?
When these coins first entered circulation back in 2016, they were stocked in the tills at the Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) Theatre in Stratford-upon-Avon, where Hamlet was being performed at the time.
Mintage Figures
On entering circulation in 2016, mintage figures were released, revealing the Shakespeare Comedies £2 as the rarest of the 3 coins with only 4,355,000 entering circulation. Original figures released were as follows:
- Shakespeare Histories: 4,615,000
- Shakespeare Tragedies: 5,995,000
- Shakespeare Comedies: 4,355,000
However this would change 3 years later in 2019 when the mintages of the Histories £2 and the Tragedies £2 were corrected. Although the Comedies £2 remained the rarest of the 3, it turns out the mintage of the Tragedies £2 was lower than originally stated.
The corrected mintage figures for the 2016 Shakespeare £2 coins are as follows:
- Shakespeare Histories: 5,655,000
- Shakespeare Tragedies: 4,615,000
- Shakespeare Comedies: 4,355,000
As you can see from the £2 mintage figure chart below, both the Comedies and Tragedies are in the top 30 rarest coins in circulation (based solely on mintage figures).
Do you have any Shakespeare £2 coins in your collection? Let us know in the comments!
If you’re interested in coin collecting, our Change Checker web app is completely free to use and allows users to:
– Find and identify the coins in their pocket
– Collect and track the coins they have
– Swap their spare coins with other Change Checkers
It’s all change in our latest Scarcity Index Update!
So you think you’ve found a rare coin in your change, but how do you know how scarce it really is? Well, mintage figures only tell part of the story…
Our Scarcity Index uses data from the Change Checker Swap Centre to determine just how scarce and sought-after your coins are. The information is presented in the easy-to-use indexes below, with arrows to signify how many places up or down a coin has moved since the last Scarcity Index update.
50p Scarcity Index
It’s all change on our latest 50p index, with all but 3 coins moving at least 1 place.
Of course, right at the top is a non mover, the Kew Gardens 50p, closely followed by the Olympic Judo 50p. A select few Olympic 50ps regularly move around at the top of the list, however after climbing to 2nd place in our last index, the Judo 50p holds its spot and surprisingly, the coveted Football 50p has been bumped down slightly.
On to the big movers…and one Olympic 50p that has dropped a massive 34 places is the Boccia 50p, putting it back to where it was about a year ago. Also moving down is the 2018 Peter Rabbit 50p which has gone down 35 places and the Paddington at St Paul’s Cathedral 50p which has dropped 16 places.
It’s not all bad news for the 50ps though, because the Roger Bannister 50p and the Ironside 50p have climbed 17 and 14 places respectively. The Roger Bannister 50p has a mintage of just over 9 million and the Ironside 50p 7 million, making them some of the more common commemorative 50ps in circulation, so this shakeup on the index is definitely interesting.
Other notable movers are the Fencing 50p which has dropped 13 places, and the Taekwondo, Boxing, Volleyball and Canoeing 50ps which have all climbed 8 places.
If you’re new to collecting and want to find out more about circulation coins, you can check out our fact files here >>
Otherwise, keep reading to find out which 10ps and £2 coins you should be looking out for.
10p Scarcity Index
Once again, the A-Z 10p Scarcity Index has had quite a shake up, with only 4 coins staying put since our last update.
Coins climbing up the ranks include the O for Oak 10p which has risen by 9 places and the K for King Arthur and I for Ice Cream 10ps which both shot up by 6 places.
Falling almost to the bottom of the index is the N for NHS 10p which went down by 12 places since our last update and the F for Fish and Chips 10p which fell by 9 places.
*Note*
It’s worth remembering that this Index only ranks the 10ps against each other, when really even the ones at the bottom of the list are still incredibly sought-after. And that’s no surprise, as a maximum of JUST 304,000 of each A-Z 10p design entered circulation across 2018 and 2019.
It’s thought that a large percentage of these 10ps have been snapped up by collectors, leaving a limited amount still in circulation, so make sure you keep an eye out for them in your change!
£2 Scarcity Index
We usually see less movement on the £2 index due to the fact that less coins have entered circulation in recent years, however this time, there have been some big movers.
Climbing an impressive 13 places is the Shakespeare Tragedies £2, which was previously 1 place from the very bottom of the index. Out of the 3 Shakespeare coins, the Comedies £2 has the lowest mintage figure, however this one has fallen by just one place.
Another surprising change is the Guinea £2 which has fallen by 17 places since our last update, putting it almost at the bottom of the index. When it was issued in 2013, just 2,990,000 Guinea £2 coins entered circulation, so despite it now ranking as common on our Scarcity Index, it’s still one of the rarer £2s out there.
And of course, the Commonwealth Games N. Ireland £2 remains at the top of the list due to it’s incredibly low mintage of just 485,000.
How your Scarcity Index works
Generally collectors have relied on mintage figures to identify the scarcest coins. But they only tell part of the story.
Trying to find a good quality coin from 15 – 20 years ago, even for a higher mintage issue, is much more challenging than a more recent issue, as coins become damaged over time and are ultimately removed from circulation.
What’s more, some designs are more hoarded than others by people who might not normally collect coins – for example the First World War £2 Coin series.
Finally, it can be up to a couple of years before the Royal Mint eventually confirms the actual mintage for an issue.
That’s why we have combined the mintage information with two other key pieces of information:
- How many of each design are listed as “collected” by Change Checkers, indicating the relative ease of finding a particular coin
- The number of times a design has been requested as a swap over the previous 3 months, showing the current level of collector demand
Importantly, as new coins are released and popularity rises and falls across different designs, the Scarcity Index will be updated quarterly. This allows Change Checkers to track the relative performance of the UK’s circulation coins.
How much are my coins worth?
The Scarcity Index doesn’t necessarily equate to value, but it is certainly a good indicator. For example, the Kew Gardens 50p coin commands a premium of up to 200 times face value on eBay and is unsurprisingly top of the 50p Index.
You can use our 6 point guide to help you determine a more realistic value for your coins.
What about £1 Coins?
The £1 Scarcity Index has already been published for the Round £1 coins. Because they are no longer being issued, this is now set in stone.
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It’s (Greenwich Mean)time for your latest Scarcity Index Update!
It’s time for the latest Scarcity Index update, your chance to discover the UK’s most sought after circulation 10p, 50p and £2 coins.
This information has been compiled using data from the Change Checker Swap Centre and presented in the easy-to-use indexes below, with arrows to signify how many places up or down a coin has moved since the last Scarcity Index update.
Where will the first King Charles III 50p rank?
Excitingly, the first circulating coin to feature King Charles III on the obverse – the Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II Memoriam 50p – entered the Scarcity Index for the first time in our previous update.
As this is only the second time a King Charles III 50p has featured in our Scarcity Index, it currently ranks as common. Despite entering circulation almost a year ago, the Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II Memoriam 50p will still be making its way into collections, and those who do find one in their change will no doubt be holding onto it.
Keep your eyes peeled for future Scarcity Index updates to see where the first King Charles III 50p will rank!
Haven’t found this coin in your change yet? Find out where in the UK you’re most likely to find one here >>
50p Scarcity Index
Whilst the latter half of the 50p index has remained fairly stable, there have been some huge movers in this latest update.
Climbing an impressive 14 places is the second coin in the Paddington 50p series – the 2019 Paddington at St Paul’s Cathedral 50p. The Paddington 50p series was incredibly popular with collectors, and inspired many younger people to start collecting. The Paddington at St Paul’s Cathedral 50p was even voted the second favourite coin in the series in a 2019 poll.
Another 50p that shot up the ranks is the Sir Arthur Conan Doyle 50p, which moved up a massive 15 places. This 50p has previously been sitting near the bottom of the Scarcity Index, making it one of the most common 50ps in circulation, however it looks like it could now be becoming more sought after among collectors.
There has also been movement amongst some of the Olympic 50ps, with the Fencing and Gymnastics 50ps both moving up 10 places. This puts them near the top of the index, which is usually reserved for some of the rarest 50ps in circulation.
Some less fortunate coins are the Mrs Tiggy-Winkle 50p which has dropped by 15 places, and the Roger Bannister 50p which fell 14 places.
If you’re new to collecting and want to find out more about circulation coins, you can check out our fact files here >>
Otherwise, keep reading to find out which 10ps and £2 coins you should be looking out for.
10p Scarcity Index
There has been quite a shuffle up on the A-Z 10p Scarcity Index, with all but 3 coins moving.
The biggest change since the last update is the previously ‘less common’ C for Cricket 10p, which has dropped 12 places. Also moving down the ranks are the E for English Breakfast 10p and the O for Oak 10p, which fell by 9 and 10 places respectively.
It’s not all bad news though, as the G for Greenwich Meantime 10p climbed 10 places and the K for King Arthur 10p rose by 8 places.
*Note*
It’s worth remembering that this Index is only ranking the 10ps against each other, when really even the ones at the bottom of the list are still incredibly sought-after and even now (4 years on since they were last released) they are still the coins every collector seems to talk about!
And that’s no surprise, as a maximum of JUST 304,000 of each A-Z 10p design entered circulation across 2018 and 2019 – making them some of the rarest coins out there. So make sure you keep your eyes peeled for them in your change!
£2 Scarcity Index
We tend to see less movement on the £2 index due to the fact less coins have entered circulation in recent years – as you can see from the bottom of the latest £2 Index. However, it’s worth remembering just how rare and collectable some of these coins are, even after being in circulation for so many years.
As always, the Commonwealth Games N. Ireland £2 remains at the top of the list due to it’s incredibly low mintage of just 485,000.
The 2014 Trinity House £2 has recovered the 7 places it fell by in the last update, putting it back into the ‘less common’ category. However, the Darwin £2 and the Gunpowder Plot £2 have both gone down by 6 places. This could be due to people holding onto their Gunpowder Plot £2 during Firework Night, meaning less swaps were raised for it.
Despite less £2s entering circulation, it’s certainly still worth holding onto any coins you can find, before they’re snapped up!
How your Scarcity Index works
Generally collectors have relied on mintage figures to identify the scarcest coins. But they only tell part of the story.
Trying to find a good quality coin from 15 – 20 years ago, even for a higher mintage issue, is much more challenging than a more recent issue, as coins become damaged over time and are ultimately removed from circulation.
What’s more, some designs are more hoarded than others by people who might not normally collect coins – for example the First World War £2 Coin series.
Finally, it can be up to a couple of years before the Royal Mint eventually confirms the actual mintage for an issue.
That’s why we have combined the mintage information with two other key pieces of information:
- How many of each design are listed as “collected” by Change Checkers, indicating the relative ease of finding a particular coin
- The number of times a design has been requested as a swap over the previous 3 months, showing the current level of collector demand
Importantly, as new coins are released and popularity rises and falls across different designs, the Scarcity Index will be updated quarterly. This allows Change Checkers to track the relative performance of the UK’s circulation coins.
How much are my coins worth?
The Scarcity Index doesn’t necessarily equate to value, but it is certainly a good indicator. For example, the Kew Gardens 50p coin commands a premium of up to 200 times face value on eBay and is unsurprisingly top of the 50p Index.
You can use our 6 point guide to help you determine a more realistic value for your coins.
What about £1 Coins?
The £1 Scarcity Index has already been published for the Round £1 coins. Because they are no longer being issued, this is now set in stone.
Receive new UK coins without the hassle of placing orders on the day of release!
Join the Change Checker UK CERTIFIED BU Subscription Service and receive new UK coins sent to your door without the hassle of placing orders on the day of release!
Don’t miss your chance to get ahead of the crowd and be one of the very first collectors to receive the latest UK new issue coins as soon as possible after their release.