THE COPES COINS JOURNAL
Explore our coin collecting archive, with guides to British coin designs, mintages and historical issues. Our current shop specialises in Uncirculated 2018 and 2019 A–Z 10p coins.
Collector archive
THE COLLECTOR’S JOURNAL
Identify the larger dual-date 50p, check its 109,000 circulation mintage and correct specifications, and understand what to compare when assessing its value.
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The 2004 Trevithick £2 marks the bicentenary of Richard Trevithick's pioneering railway journey. Its locomotive and cogwheel make it easy to recognise, but the design alone does not make every example valuable. The Royal Mint...
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The 50th Anniversary of London Pride will be celebrated on 1st July 2022 and to mark the event, the Royal Mint has issued a brand new 50p. Better still, it has been confirmed that 5 million of the cupro-nickel...
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In 1999, the Royal Mint commemorated the Rugby World Cup on a £2 coin but how much is the 1999 Rugby World Cup £2 coin worth today? The 1999 Rugby World Cup was the fourth...
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The gunpowder plot in 1605 was a failed assassination attempt of King James I by a group of English Catholics. The plan was to blow up the House of Lords during the opening of Parliament...
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Introduced by The Royal Mint in 2005, the Dictionary 50p coin was released to celebrate the 250th anniversary of Samuel Johnson's Dictionary - one of the most influential pieces of scholarship in the history of...
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The Scouting 50p was released into circulation back in 2007, three years earlier than the 2010 Girlguiding 50p. Also known as the 'Be Prepared 50p' due to the inscription on the reverse of the coin, over...
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Charles Darwin was a British scientist who established the idea of evolution and revolutionized our understanding of the natural world. His book On the Origin of Species was immensely controversial because it suggested that humans...
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From our experience, the famous 2009 Kew Gardens 50p remains the most coveted coin currently in circulation. Its circulation mintage is 210,000. The 2023 Atlantic Salmon 50p has a lower circulation mintage of 200,000, as...
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Robert Burns was a Scottish poet and lyricist who is largely recognised as one of the greatest literary personalities in British history. Burns Night is commemorated each year on his birthday, January 25th, with a...
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'Composer born in 1913' is presented across the front of this coin that was issued by the Royal Mint in 2013 to mark the 100th birthday of British composer Benjamin Britten. This special coin is...
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Issued back in 2013 by the Royal Mint, the Christopher Ironside 50p has rather nostalgic feel about it as it commemorates the coin designer. But how much is it worth? Due to its unusual design,...
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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,...
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The Withdrawal from the European Union 2020 UK 50p Coin (also known as the Brexit 50p) has proved incredibly popular with collectors since its release in 2020. Also known as the 'Peace Prosperity And Friendship...
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On May 23, 1901, Guglielmo Marconi sent the first radio transmission across the Atlantic Ocean, from Cornwall, England to Newfoundland, Canada. This historic event marked the beginning of a new era in communications and Marconi's...
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On 8th May 1945, Winston Churchill announced VE Day - Victory in Europe, which marked the end of World War Two and followed Germany's surrender about a week after Adolf Hitler had committed suicide. This...
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One of the most beautiful UK coins ever produced, the WWF 50p was released by the Royal Mint into circulation in 2011. With the unmistakable animal 50p design, the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) 50p pays...
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The Battle of Hastings was such a significant event that it completely changed the course of history. The reverse of this coin was designed by John Bergdahl and is inspired by the Bayeux Tapestry. How...
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It is a well known fact that, in the coin collector world, 50p coins are the most collected coins in the UK today. The 2003 Suffragettes 50p is a highly collectable coin and, although this...
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The Royal Mint has issued two pound coins since 1986, many of them commemorating events in history. In 2007, two commemorative £2 coins were released into general circulation; the Abolition of Slavery £2 coin and...
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A coin commemorating the Act of Union between England and Scotland was released by the Royal Mint in 2007. The Act of Union was an important moment in British history, and this £2 coin commemorates...
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The first modern Olympic Games were held in Athens in 1896. Baron Pierre de Coubertin, who had a goal to unite people from all over the world to share in the spirit of friendly competition,...
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The end of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games marked the first major event for the London 2012 games, with the official handover of the Games to the next host city. The Olympic Flag was handed...
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Florence Nightingale is famous for her work in the military hospitals during the Crimean War where she tended to wounded soldiers. She saw her calling in nursing and volunteered with 38 other nurses, whom she...
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On the 15th of September 1940, the Royal Air Force (RAF) fought what is now known as the Battle of Britain. In order to commemorate this event, the Royal Mint released a 50p coin in...
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In 2016, the 31st Summer Olympics were held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, with 207 nations taking part and more than 11,000 athletes competing. Team GB had a team of 366 athletes participating in 25...
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In 1973, Britain finally joined the European Economic Community, EEC, after a vote that took place in Parliament where MPs voted 301-284 in favour of joining the EEC. In 1973, the Royal Mint introduced the...
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In 2006, the Royal Mint released two commemorative 50p coins both to celebrate the 150th Anniversary of the institution of the Victoria Cross. One being the Victoria Cross Heroic Acts (wounded soldier) 50p and the...
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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...
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The Diversity 50p was issued to celebrate all the people who have made Britain what it is today, including the profound contribution of ethnic minority communities have made to the shared history of the United...
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