Girlguiding is a growing, diverse movement and has over 10 million members across the globe. It has a valued history of empowering girls and young women to be their best and take on exciting and rewarding challenges.
The girlguiding movement started in the UK in 1909 when a group of girls demanded to take part in a Boy Scout Rally that was taking place at Crystal Palace in London. Baden-Powell had earlier published his book 'Scouting for Boys' which inspired girls to get involved in scouting activities.
Lord Robert Baden-Powell, the founder of the Boy Scout Movement, decided that, rather than the girls join the Boys' movement, there should be a separate, single sex organisation created for girls.
Baden-Powell then asked his sister, Agnes Baden-Powell, to form a separate Girl Guides organisation. In 1910 The Girl Guides organisation was formed in the United Kingdom.
According to reports, 1st Pinkneys Green Guides, where Miss Baden-Powell was leader, was the first Guide Company to be registered and this guide group still exists today. The majority of girl guide and girl scout groups trace their roots back to here.
History of the Coin
On 15th February 1971, also known as Decimal Day, our current decimalised system of currency was introduced in order to make the tendering of money much simpler, and to also bring it in line with similar currencies around the world. Most countries now have decimalised currency systems in place, with one basic currency unit, for example the Great British pound and sub-units (pence) that are to a power of 10 (dec), most commonly 100.
New coins had to be minted prior to decimalisation being introduced, with the first three new coins were the 5p (in place of the shilling), 10p (in place of the florin), and 50p (in place of the 10 shilling note).
Over 200 million new 50p coins were minted prior to decimal day with the 50 pence coin's reverse showcasing Britannia. The 50p was the first heptagonal-shaped coin to be issued and was the only such coin in circulation in the world, making it a numismatic first.
The Royal Mint has commemorated historical events on 50p coins for nearly 50 years, the first being the clasped hands, old style 50p that was minted back in 1973.
Many collectors begin coin collecting after finding one of those commemorative coins in there change and are surprised to learn how many commemorative 50p coins (and coins of other denominations) have entered general circulation.
The Design of the Coin
In 2010, to commemorate the centenary of the Girl Guides organisation, a highly decorative coin, the Girl Guiding 50p, was minted a century after the group was established in the UK.
It was the only 50p coin to be released into circulation in 2010. Britannia 50p coins dated 2010 were not released that year, only featuring in brilliant uncirculated annual sets.
The reverse of the girlguiding fifty pence coin was created by designers Donna Hainan and Jonathan Evans through their company Navyblue before it shut down. The company was responsible for creating logos and design for several UK organizations.
The Royal Mint lauded the duo’s design, saying “Designers Jonathan Evans and Donna Hainan of design agency Navy Blue created a reverse design worthy of such an important centenary celebration.
Their simple yet elegant design features six ‘trefoil’ patterns, each representing a stage of the organisation from the Rainbow Promise Badge to the Trefoil Guild Promise Badge, surrounding the central Girlguiding UK logo. The Trefoil has been used from the very foundation of both the Guiding and Scouting movements: the three leaves signify the three-fold Promise.
The combined Trefoils symbolise the journey every Girl Guide undertakes and also portray the strength and diversity of the organisation, while their arrangement and interlinked form give a sense of protection, trust and unity.”
Their small initials are found among the rotating six trefoil logos.
The obverse of the 50p Girl Guiding commemorative coin depicts the head of Queen Elizabeth II in which she is wearing the Royal Diadem Crown that she wore on her coronation. The effigy is also known as the ‘4th Portrait'.
The image has lettering around it, which translates to Elizabeth the Second, by the Grace of God, Queen Defender of the Faith.
The obverse design is of the portrait of HM Queen Elizabeth II by Ian Rank-Broadley FRBS.
The edges of the coin are plain, and there is no inscription on them.
Is the Girl Guiding 50p Coin Rare?
According to the Royal Mint website, 7,410,090 Girl Guiding 50p coins entered circulation back in 2010 which makes it a less rare coin and one that you may find in your change today. Bear in mind, this coin has been circulating for over 12 years so any coin you find in your change will probably reflect this in terms of wear and tear.
Having said that, coin collecting has really taken off over recent years with the media frenzy over coins such as the 2009 Kew Gardens 50p and the 2016 Jemima Puddle-duck 50p so although over 7 million of these were released, many have been taken out of circulation by collectors and guide enthusiasts themselves.
Ironically, a mintage of 7 million is on a par with the 2007 Scouting 50p which had a slightly higher mintage at 7.7 million. The 2013 Christopher Ironside 50p had a mintage of 7 million.
Most coin experts would consider it to be an ordinary coin. However, it ranks higher than the Boy Scouts version of the coin both in terms of scarcity and appeal.
The Royal Mint also produced other versions of the coin with 20,000 Silver Proof coins, 1,500 Silver Proof Piedfort coins and 1,000 Gold Proof coins were produced, along with brilliant uncirculated packs.
How Much Is a Girl Guiding 50p Coin Worth Today?
As always it is difficult to put an exact price on a coin as all coins vary in condition. To a collector we would estimate the Girl Guiding 50p coin to be worth around £2.50 in good condition, but if you are looking to buy one, expect to pay more than this to cover seller's costs for postage and packaging. It is still four times the face value of the coin and a good addition to any collection.
Where Can I Buy the Girl Guiding 50p Coin?
Copes Coins has this coin in stock and you can buy it here.
Alternatively, you can buy the Girl Guiding 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. As we said we expect this coin to be selling for £2.50 plus postage so be wary of any listings trying to sell this circulated coin for more than £5.
Unfortunately, as this coin is now over 12 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?
A coin was listed on eBay for over £800 suggesting there was an error on one of the stars on the coin. However, the Royal Mint have not confirmed any official errors so beware of sellers trying to highlight the coin has an error to commission a higher price.
Bit of Trivia...
The Girlguiding 50p was re-released in 2019 as part of the 50th Anniversary of the 50p Celebrations. This coin was released as a Brilliant Uncirculated commemorative issue only and did not enter general circulation.