Mint 24K carat Gold Plated 2019 160th Anniversary of the Birth of Arthur Conan Doyle author of Sherlock Holmes 50p Fifty Pence Coin with Capsule Holder in a Pouch Wallet 1 £24 90.
COIN collectors should start checking their change as the Royal Mint has confirmed that a new 50p piece featuring Sherlock Holmes has gone into general circulation.
This means you could start seeing it crop up in your loose change – and people have already started to sell their finds on eBay.
The Royal Mint won't confirm when exactly the coin came out but collectors report spotting them yesterday.
2019 Sherlock Holmes UNCIRCULATED 50p Collectable Coin.royal mint $ 13.90. Eligible orders get 15% off Spend $13.31 to get 15% off your order The UK Battle of Britain. The Sherlock Holmes 50p features a design by Stephen Raw of a silhouette of Sherlock surrounded by names of the tales written by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, the creator of Sherlock Holmes. This 50p coin is in tribute to the 160th anniversary of the birth of Doyle. 2019 Royal Mint Sherlock Holmes 50p Fifty Pence Gold Proof Coin NGC PF70 UC. Top Rated Seller Top Rated Seller. Was: Previous Price C $5,148.37.
And yesterday would mark the 160th birthday of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, author of the Sherlock Holmes detective series, who was born on May 22, 1859.
The Royal Mint won't tell us how many have gone into circulation, only saying that the coins will be struck and entered in line with demand.
Colin Bellamy, founder of coin collection site CoinHunter.co.uk, reckons we'll likely find out the circulation figures next summer.
What are the most valuable 50p coins?
HAVE a rummage through the change in your pocket for rare 50p coins because they could be worth a small fortune.
Kew Gardens, up to £160
This rare commemorative coin was created in 2009 to celebrate the 250th anniversary of London’s Kew Gardens. Only 210,000 of these coins were issued and a quick check online shows up that a circulated coin with this design sold for £160 on eBay after it got 25 bids.
Sir Isaac Newton, up to £77
At first, just 375 of the Sir Isaac Newton coins were released into the tills at Woolsthorpe Manor in Lincolnshire, the birthplace and home of the famous scientist, but more of the coins were slowly released into circulation – adding up to a total of 1.8million. The majority of these coins are still boxed in protective packaging and they're selling for around £76.99 online.
Jemima Puddle Duck, up to £13.50
There are only 2.1million of these coins in circulation and one of the coins recently sold for 27 times its value at £13.50 on eBay.
Suffragettes, up to £7.50
There are currently 3.1million of the coins in circulation. Recently, one coin that had been in circulation fetched £7.50 on eBay – that's 15 times its face value.
WWF, up to £4.50
There are 3.4million coins in circulation and they are hugely popular amongst collectors. We found one that was recently sold for £4.50.
Britannia, up to £1.81 Games with earn money.
Britannia was replaced by the new Royal Shield in 2008 as the standard 50p design, and none have been issued since, making the ones minted in that year valuable to collectors. Only 3.5million were issued into circulation and one recently sold on eBay for £1.81.
Until then, he think the 50p could initially be worth five to ten times its face value on eBay.
That means you could get up to a fiver for it. Mr Bellamy says he's already seen three coins sell on eBay this morning for £5 each.
Of course, the rarer a coin is the more valuable it's likely to be, so its worth could creep up once we know the mintage.
Because of this you may be better off holding on to any coins you find and waiting to hear how many are out there.
But on the other hand, Mr Bellamy adds that as supply starts to outstrip demand prices on eBay will fall.
The coin initially went into circulation at The Royal Mint Experience in Wales earlier this month, so if you've recently paid a visit you may want to check your pockets.
Earlier this month, the Royal Mint also released four commemorative versions of the coin.
The cheapest version was a brilliant uncirculated 50p in a presentation pack for £10, which is still available.
There were also 6,000 silver proof versions available at £55 each, 2,500 chunkier piedfort silver proof coins available for £95 each, and 400 gold proof coins at £795.
But the silver proofs and the gold proofs have already sold out and the piedfort versions say they're 'awaiting stock'.
What are the different types of coin?
THESE are the coins you can get from the Royal Mint:
- Circulated – these are the coins you'll see in your shop change.
- Brilliant uncirculated – these coins are a higher standard than circulating and bullion coins. The machines used to strike these coins are polished and finished by hand.
- Proof – these are the highest quality coins produced by the Royal Mint. Machines used to make these are all hand-finished.
- Bullion – these coins are made from gold and silver and are usually used as an investment that aims to retain a certain value over time.
Until this month the only way to get the coin was to buy Royal Mint's annual coins 2019 set, which starts from £55 and ranges up to a whopping £5,250 for a gold proof version.
The coin features Sherlock Holmes' iconic profile complete with his pipe and deerstalker hat
In the background are the titles of other books written by crime author Sir Arthur Conan Doyle with lettering so tiny that you might need a magnifying glass to decipher it.
These include The Hound of the Baskervilles and The Sign of Four.
Other coins set to launch this year include a £2 coin commemorating diarist Samuel Pepys and a £2 coin celebrating the 260th anniversary of Wedgewood pottery.
This year has already seen the launch of a £5 coin to celebrate Queen Victoria's 200th anniversary and a new £2 coin to mark 75 years since D-Day Landings.
But none of these coins have gone or are planned to go into general circulation.
The most recent 50p coins to be released into general circulation was Mrs Tittlemouse – a Beatrix Potter character – in May 2018.
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Discover more about the Sherlock Holmes 50p coin
The Royal Mint issued a special Sherlock Holmes 50p in May 2019, to celebrate the 160th anniversary of author Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s birth. The first story involving the character of Sherlock Holmes was published in 1887, and since then Holmes has inspired countless films, video games, radio plays and TV series.
The BBC TV show Sherlock ran from 2010 to 2017 and was hugely popular. The drama was based on Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's detective stories and starred Benedict Cumberbatch as Sherlock Holmes and Martin Freeman as Doctor John Watson.
The commemorative 50p coins were made available in Gold proof, Silver Proof, Silver Proof Piedfort and Brilliant Uncirculated versions. Unlike many of the other collectable 50p coins, the Sherlock Holmes 50p was not entered into general circulation, so it's not likely you'll find it in your loose change.
The specification of the coins is as follows:
Sherlock Holmes 50p Brilliant Uncirculated Coin
- Metal: Cupro-Nickel
- Weight: 8g
- Diameter: 27.30mm
- Mintage: Unlimited
- Retail price: £10
The Gold Proof coin had a mintage of just 400, the Silver Proof coin had a mintage of 6,000, and the Silver Proof Piedfort coin was limited to 2,500 copies. The Royal Mint have now sold out of these special versions of the coin with just the Brilliant Uncirculated – which they describe as 'a higher quality than other coins you’ll find in your pocket' – coin still available.
The coin's design, by Stephen Raw, features a silhouette of Holmes wearing his trademark deerstalker hat and smoking a pipe. He is surrounded by the names of his famous cases – and these names can only be read by using a magnifying glass.
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So how rare is the 2019 Sherlock Holmes 50p coin?
50p Sherlock Holmes Cast
Since the coins have not been put into circulation, the value is fairly straightforward, they are worth the retail price (as shown in the details above). If you do find one in your change you should count yourself lucky and put it aside, as the 50p coins are not intended to be used.