Are you a fan of Beatrix Potter's timeless tales and a coin collector? If so, you're in for a treat! The Beatrix Potter 50p Portrait Coin is a must-have for any enthusiast. This unique coin celebrates the beloved author and her iconic characters in a truly special way. Let's dive into the fascinating world of this commemorative coin.
Have you found this coin in your change? This is the Beatrix Potter 50p coin, also known as the Beatrix Potter portrait 50p, and is dedicated to the works of Beatrix Potter – but is this coin rare and how much is this coin worth today?
A series of commemorative 50p coins honouring Beatrix Potter, were released in 2016 by the Royal Mint, to mark the 150th anniversary of the famed children's book author's birth.
The second of the coins to be released in the series is the 2016 Beatrix Potter Portrait 50p coin. But how much is it worth and how rare is it?
According to the most recent eBay and Amazon sales, the value of the coin, in good circulated condition and excluding any postage or selling costs, is around £3.50. So, at seven times it's face value, it's a good addition to your collection if you find it in your change.
The Beatrix Potter 2016 50p collection
A total of five Emma Noble-designed coins featuring favourites including Peter Rabbit, Beatrix Potter, Tiggy-Winkle, Jemima Puddle-duck and Squirrel Nutkin were released in 2016.
The Beatrix Potter 50p coin celebrates the 150th Anniversary of the birth of Beatrix Potter in 1866. One of Britain’s best loved authors, Beatrix Potter is famous for her enchanting tales of naughty animals such as Tom Kitten and Peter Rabbit. A prolific writer and illustrator, she created stories that would entertain and engage generations of children.
Due to the coins' enormous popularity, the Royal Mint decided to continue the series in 2017 with a new coin that included Benjamin Bunny, Tom Kitten, Mr. Jeremy Fisher, and Peter Rabbit once more.
Another Peter Rabbit coin, Mrs. Tittlemouse, The Tailor of Gloucester, and Flopsy Bunny were the ones that came after them in 2018. 2019 and 2020 saw the release of a collector's edition Peter Rabbit coin, continuing the series.
It is clear that this series of 50p coins is by far the most loved and sought after.
Design of the 2016 Beatrix Potter 50p coin
The cupro-nickel form of the coin has a plain edge, is 27.3mm in diameter, weighs 8g, and is 1.78mm thick.
Emma Noble, a Royal Mint engraver, designed the reverse side of the coin which features a small portrait silhouette of Beatrix Potter at the top centre of the coin with her name below in capital letters in a literary font.
Underneath her name, are the dates of her birth and death, 1866-1943. Peter Rabbit is centred below the dates with his ears in between the two dates. Up both sides of the coin to encircle the design, are decorative plants and flowers resembling illustrations from her works.
The initials, “en” in lower case are embossed in the lower right, the initials of the designer, Emma Noble.
Royal Mint designer Emma Noble has brought Beatrix Potter’s characters to life on the coins. Emma has been in charge of carefully engraving the original illustrations and she has previously worked on coins commemorating Remembrance Sunday and celebrating the 60th anniversary of Her Late Majesty The Queen’s coronation.
Noble used the author's own watercolours of her characters for the whole Beatrix Potter series. The images that feature on these coins are meticulous recreations of the handpainted illustrations which brought Beatrix Potter’s iconic books to life.
Potter was a talented painter herself, and the Royal Mint took considerable effort to accurately capture the personality and subtly intricate details of the original piece.
Emma Noble had worked at the Royal Mint for 20 years before she was chosen to design the Beatrix Potter series of coins.
On the obverse side, running continuously around the effigy, is the monarch's legend and the date: ELIZABETH II · D · G · REG · F · D · 50 PENCE ·2016.
Translated from Latin: Elizabeth the Second, by the Grace of God, Queen, Defender of the Faith, followed by the value and denomination in English.
In small letters below the head, the artist's initials J.C for Jody Clark.
Mintage of the Coin
Official figures from the Royal Mint's website show that the 2016 Beatrix Potter 50p coin was the third rarest of the five coins released that year, with a mintage of just 6,900,000.
Additionally, the coin was also minted as a Brilliant Uncirculated variety in individual presentation folders as well as complete sets, in addition to silver proof versions which had a total mintage of 15,000.
For reference, the 2016 Jemima 50p coin had a mintage of 2.1 million, Mrs Tiggy-Winkle 50p coin had a mintage of 8.8 million, 2016 Peter Rabbit coin had a mintage of 9.7 million and the Squirrel Nutkin 50p coin had a mintage of 5 million.
The rarest 50p coins in the Beatrix Potter series are the 2018 Peter Rabbit and the 2018 Flopsy bunny 50p coin, which both have a mintage of 1.4 million.
In 2016, there were two other 50p coins issued into general circulation; the 2016 Battle of Hastings 50p and the 2016 Team GB Rio 50p, both had a mintage of over 6 million.
Is the 2016 Beatrix Potter 50p Coin Rare?
With a mintage of 6.9 million the Beatrix Potter 50p is considered a fairly rare coin in that they are getting harder and harder to find as collectors want them for their own collections. Also, given the popularity of the Beatrix Potter coins, the coin is still highly sought after. The Beatrix Potter 50p can still be found in your change and as collectors are adding them to their collections, the coin is becoming more scarce.
How much is The Beatrix Potter 50p worth? How rare is it?
As we said, it is always it is difficult to put an exact price on a coin as all coins vary in condition, but we would expect the circulated 2016 Beatrix Potter 50p to be worth around £3.50 in today's market excluding any postage costs.
Where Can I Buy the 2016 Beatrix Potter 50p Coin?
You can buy the 2016 Beatrix Potter 50p coin online on auction sites such as eBay or Amazon but please ensure you look at all the information and reputation of the seller.
Alternatively, you can buy it from ourselves by clicking here.
Unfortunately, as this coin is now nearly 7 years old, the Royal Mint no longer stock this coin so it is only available to buy on the secondary market.
Are there any known errors of this coin?
The Royal Mint has not confirmed any error versions of the 2016 Beatrix Potter 50p.
Bit of Trivia...
A lost Potter story, The Tale of Kitty-in-Boots, was rediscovered in 2013 and published in Summer 2016. Publisher Jo Hanks found references to the story in an out-of-print biography of Potter and so went searching through the writer’s archive at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London. Hanks discovered a sketch of the kitty in question, plus a rough layout of the unedited manuscript.
1 comment
Anna
Why are some of the Beatrix potter 50p pieces 2016 more expensive than others? I’ve seen them on eBay for £3.58 pound and then £300 and 600 is it to do with the condition of the coin? thank you