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 coins, designed by Emma Noble, are immensely popular, so much so, a new batch of coins in 2017 were issued featuring different characters from Potter's stories. It is cleat that this series of 50p coins is by far the most loved and sought after.
The 50p series continued in 2018, 2019 and 2020 with more coins featuring different characters from Potter's books. In total, 15 50p coins were released in this series.
The Jemima Puddle-duck 50p coin was one of five Beatrix Potter coins released in 2016 and is hugely popular with both children and adults alike. So how much is the Jemima 50p worth?
This 2016 coin featuring Jemima Puddle-Duck and is worth about £14 circulated or £18 uncirculated, according to values on eBay and Amazon.
In total, five Beatrix Potter 50p coins were released in 2016, featuring Peter Rabbit, Squirrel Nutkin, Mrs Tiggywinkle, Beatrix Potter as well as the Jemima Puddle-duck 50p. The series continued on fifty pence coins until 2020.
History of the coin
The Tale of Jemima Puddle-Duck is a children's book written and illustrated by Beatrix Potter. It was first published by Frederick Warne & Co. in July 1908.
Potter composed the book at Hill Top, a working farm in the Lake District she bought in 1905.
The lead character in the book, Jemima, is a white-coloured domestic duck of the Aylesbury breed who wears a blue poke bonnet and pink shawl. Her eggs are regularly confiscated by the farmer's wife as she believes Jemima to be a poor sitter.
Jemima takes umbrage and seeks to lay her eggs away from the farm but is tricked by the suave fox and eventually saved by the farm's dog, Kep. Potter indicated the tale was a revision of 'Little Red Riding Hood.'
Design of the 2016 Jemima Puddle-duck 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.
The Jemima Puddle-Duck 50p, released in 2016, depicts the character of Jemima Puddle-Duck wearing her bonnet and shawl with the inscription 'JEMIMA PUDDLE-DUCK' around the top of the coin.
Below this, there is the large image of Jemima Puddle-Duck facing to the left. The initials 'en' in lowercase are seen in the lower left side of the reverse, to Jemima's right, which are the initials of the designer, Emma Noble.
The designer, Emma Noble, had designed the 2016 coins to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the birth of Beatrix Potter and when the Royal Mint issued additional Beatrix Potter coins in 2017 and 2018, Emma Noble was again chosen to design them.
Her designs were also featured on the 2019 and 2020 collector edition Peter Rabbit coins. These were the only Beatrix Potter 50p coins not to enter general circulation.
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.
Jody Clark was the youngest person to design the monarch’s profile on this currency at the age of just 33. Jody Clark was also the first Royal Mint employee to design a UK definitive coin portrait in more than 100 years.
He had only been working at the Royal Mint for about two years prior. The new design would be the first time her portrait had been changed in 17 years.
Jody Clark’s design was unveiled in 2015 as the fifth definitive coinage portrait of Her Majesty and the fourth portrait of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II in circulation.
Mintage of the Coin
Official figures from the Royal Mint's website show that the Jemima Puddle Duck coin was the rarest of the five coins released that year, with a mintage of just 2,100,000.
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 Peter Rabbit 50p coin had a mintage of 9.7 million, Mrs Tiggy-Winkle 50p coin had a mintage of 8.8 million, Squirrel Nutkin had a mintage of 5 million and the Beatrix Potter 50p coin had a mintage of 6.9 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 Jemima Puddle-duck 50p Coin Rare?
With a mintage of just 2.1 million the Jemima 50p is considered a rare coin. The Jemima Puddle Duck 50p can still be found in your change and is the most sought after 50p in the whole series despite it having a higher mintage than others in the collection, including the Mrs Tittlemouse 50p. As collectors are adding them to their collections, the coin is becoming more scarce.
The media hype around the coin at the time, may be the reason why this coin is valued the highest in the series despite it not having the lowest mintage.
How Much Is the Jemima Puddle-duck 50p Coin Worth Today?
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 Jemima Puddle-duck 50p to be worth around £12-£16 in today's market excluding any postage costs.
Where Can I Buy the 2016 Jemima Puddle-duck 50p Coin?
Buy the Jemima Puddle-duck 50p here
Or if you prefer, you can buy the Jemima 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.
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 Jemima 50p, so any listings on eBay or Amazon that are trying to market an ‘error’ version are trying to trick buyers and artificially inflate the price.
There have, however, confirmed instances of fake versions of this coin so please buy from reputable sellers and check the coin carefully for any obvious anomalies.
Bit of Trivia...
Beatrix Potter's first name was actually Helen. She was born in London on July 28, 1866 and was actually christened Helen after her mother, but was known by her more unusual middle name, Beatrix.
Peter was modeled on Potter’s own pet rabbit, Peter Piper—her beloved bunny who she frequently sketched and took for walks on a leash.