50p Sherlock Holmes
All British numismatists rejoice! The Royal Mint has introduced a new 50p coin to celebrate Britain’s favourite detective, Sherlock Holmes. The coin has entered general circulation and what that means is that it can pop up in your change at any given time and any given place. Remember one thing though, in case you stumble upon the coin in your change, the small piece of metal featuring the deerstalker-and-pipe enthusiast’s silhouette will be probably worth a lot more than its face value eventually. The total number of coins in circulation has not been revealed by the Royal Mint so it’s not possible to guess its scarcity. Let’s find out more about the Sherlock Holmes 50p coin and how likely you are to find out about it.
How much is the Sherlock Holmes 50p coin worth?
The Sherlock Holmes 50p coins were released in 2019 to celebrate 160 years since the birth of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, writer of the fictional detective series. It has been said that his works revolutionised the crime genre, and the popularity of Sherlock Holmes resulted in Doyle becoming one of the best-paid authors of the time. Hey everyone it looks like the 2019 Sherlock Holmes 50p is now out in circulation! Let’s us all know where you are if you find one they do tend to end up only in certain areas of the country to start with as the banks don’t send them to all branches at the same time. Because the branches can already have plenty of stock.
Earlier in May, multiple versions of the Sherlock Holmes coin became available for purchase on the Royal Mint website to celebrate the 160th anniversary of author Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s birth. The coin has the famous detective’s silhouette surrounded by the names of some of his most famous stories.
You May Like: Rare Pound Coins For Collectors to Watch Out For
The cheapest version was that of an uncirculated coin in a presentation pack. You can still pick it up for £10. More premium versions, such as limited edition silver and gold proof coins, were sold for as much as £795 each before selling out altogether. These collector’s coins have since appeared on eBay, though they don’t always fetch a lot. One out-of-stock silver proof version of the Sherlock Holmes 50p coin was sold for £85, which is more than what the £55 charged by the Royal Mint. The same coin was also sold at a lower price of £40 on eBay. The brilliant uncirculated version barely fetched a little more than its retail price at £11.50, just £1.50 above what the Royal Mint charged. This was an exception, as it most often sold for less. The circulated version of the coin, however, does have the potential to fetch big figures. But only if there aren’t too many of themHowever, that only happens if the number of coins in circulation is low.
Is the Sherlock Holmes 50p Coin rare enough to fetch a good secondary market price?
The most valuable circulated 50p at the moment is the 2009 Kew Gardens coin, which goes for upwards of £100 on eBay. It’s worth so much because of its low mintage, only 210,000 entered circulation. In contrast, the 2016 Beatrix Potter Peter Rabbit coin was minted over 9 million times. As a result of the huge number in circulation, it was not rare enough to fetch a strong secondary market price since many people can just chance upon it in their change with ease. Since it’s impossible to estimate a coin’s value without its mintage figures, it’s going to be impossible to estimate how much the new Sherlock 50p Coin will be worth in the secondary market. Mintage figures won’t be available any time soon. If they end up being scarce, collectors might have to shell out Kew Gardens-level prices. According to coin collection site Change Checker, the Kew Gardens 50p was overlooked for years until official mintage figures were revealed in 2014. At the moment there is no way of knowing whether something similar will happen with the Sherlock Holmes coin. However, if you stumble across it in your change, it’s better for you if you keep it with yourself for some time. Change Checker says that with the £10 brilliant uncirculated version still available to purchase collectors would be unlikely to pay more for a circulation-quality Sherlock Holmes 50p coin.
You May Like: Beatrix Potter 50p Coins: Which Coins are Available and How Much Do They Cost?
Are there some other 50p coins to watch out for?
The Royal Mint has already released at least four new commemorative 50ps coins and coin sets this year – one of them even commemorated other commemorative 50ps. In March, the Mint released a Stephen Hawking 50p to celebrate the influential scientist, and a full-colour Peter Rabbit 50p – following the 2016 line of non-colour Beatrix Potter character coins. After Beatrix Potter and Peter Rabbit coins, the Royal Mint decided to celebrate more children’s literature with Julia Donaldson’s Gruffalo earning its own 50p in February. The Sherlock Holmes 50p coin differs a little from the other coins because it is the only one that has entered circulation thus far. So the only way you can find them is if a collector who bought them from the Royal Mint actually goes on to accidentally spend one for buying something. For the most part, you’ll have to buy them online to add them to your collection. There are, however, a number of rare 50ps which are in circulation that you could very well end up finding. The 2017 Sir Isaac Newton coin is the second rarest coin in circulation after the Kew Gardens coin. The circulated version appears to have sold for a range of prices between £1.04 and £3.99 on eBay recently. A lot of the coins which commemorate the 2012 London Olympics also usually sell at higher than face value. One of the funniest and most valuable coins on sale is the one that ‘explains’ football’s offside rule in a humorous way. There is another important fact that you need to remember, all eBay listings shouldn’t be taken very seriously. A lot of times, sellers inflate by setting a high starting bid. They can also secretly inflate the price by bidding on their own products. Always remember, a rare coin’s worth is eventually decided by what a collector is ready to pay for it. Just because you put your rare 50p coin for sale, doesn’t mean you can make money on it. Similarly, even if the Sherlock Holmes 50p coin ends up being rare, it doesn’t necessarily mean that it will be ridiculously expensive to pick up from the secondary market.
Every year The Royal Mint mark the year’s memorable events and anniversaries that capture the nation by striking these stories onto circulating coins, and 2019 is no different.
Today, The Royal Mint have unveiled the new themes and designs for all the 2019 commemorative coins, and Change Checkers can look forward to some fascinating British anniversaries being commemorated.
50p: The 160th anniversary of the birth of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
As the father of modern crime writing, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s legacy lives on 160 years since his birth, thanks to his iconic creation – Britain’s greatest detective, Sherlock Holmes™.
The classic tales of Sherlock Holmes and his sidekick Dr. Watson are treasured reads which have led Doyle to become one of the most famous writers in the world.
Reverse designer: Stephen Raw
£2: The 260th anniversary of the formation of Wedgwood
The industrial revolution of the 18th century shaped Britain’s future and brought about great social changes and technological advancements. Josiah Wedgwood created his pottery empire using modern mass production methods, which we still use today.
Reverse designer: Wedgwood Design Team
This coin is now available to purchase individually in Brilliant Uncirculated quality here.
£2: The 75th anniversary of the D-Day Landings
On the 6th of June 1944, the D-Day landings turned the tide of the Second World War. Allied troops landed at five different beaches codenamed Utah, Omaha, Gold, Juno and Sword for the largest amphibious assault ever launched. This gave them a position from which they could advance into Germany and paved the way for victory on the Western Front and the liberation of Europe.
Reverse designer: Stephen Taylor
> (opens in a new tab)' href='https://www.westminstercollection.com/p-438Y/2019-UK-D-Day-CERTIFIED-BU-2-Pound-Coin.aspx?utm_source=chch%20blog&utm_medium=blog&utm_content=first%20look%20new%20royal%20mint%20coin%20designs%20for%202019&sn=3&brand=changechecker' target='_blank'>This coin is now available to purchase individually in Brilliant Uncirculated quality here.
£2: The 350th anniversary of Samuel Pepy’s last diary entry
Samuel Pepy’s diary entries provide detailed and personal observations from some of Britain’s most significant moments in history, such as the Restoration, the Plague and the Great Fire of London. His diary has been essential for understanding these events and their impact on people at the time and give invaluable first-hand insights.
Reverse designer: Gary Breeze
This coin is now available to purchase individually in Brilliant Uncirculated quality here.
£5: The 200th anniversary of the birth of Queen Victoria
At her birth in 1819, no one knew that Queen Victoria’s reign would span the rest of the century and make her one Britain’s most famous rulers. She came to the throne aged just 18 years old, at a time when Britain’s Empire was growing and becoming the world’s pre-eminent superpower in an era of unrivalled peace and prosperity.
Reverse designer: John Bergdahl
> (opens in a new tab)' href='https://www.westminstercollection.com/p-428X/2019-UK-Queen-Victoria-CERTIFIED-BU-5-Pound.aspx?utm_source=chch%20blog&utm_medium=blog&utm_content=first%20look%20new%20royal%20mint%20coin%20designs%20for%202019&sn=h&brand=changechecker' target='_blank'>This coin is now available to purchase individually in Brilliant Uncirculated quality here.
Sherlock Holmes Collectibles For Sale
The announcement of the year’s coins is always an exciting moment for Change Checkers, particularly when the anniversaries are as significant as these.
And now we can now start looking forward to finding these new designs in our change throughout the year!
Own the 2019 Commemorative Coin Set
Sherlock Holmes 50p Value
If you can’t wait to find these coins in your change, be one of the first to own the complete set!