The 2016 Peter Rabbit 50p is one of five 2016 coins marking the 150th anniversary of the birth of Beatrix Potter. The design by Emma Noble shows a close up portrait of Peter Rabbit with ears pricked. The fifty pence piece is circulated and protected in a small plastic wallet. Peter Rabbit 2016 50p coin values. 2 October 2018 at 7:46PM edited 30 November -1 at 12:00AM in Ebay, Auctions, Car Boot & Jumble Sales. 8 replies 1.9K views.

• Peter Rabbit 50p 2016
• Peter Rabbit 50p 2016 Half Whisker

Peter Rabbit 50p 2016

Many versions of the 50p have been issued, but few have the potential to raise a smile like the Peter Rabbit coin.

And while the whimsical designs can transport us back to our childhood, the Beatrix Potter coins can also be sought after by collectors.

The Royal Mint has revealed the rarest 50p coins in circulation ahead of the 50th anniversary of decimilisation, with the Peter Rabbit coin among the scarcest.

Here’s how it compares to other low-mintage designs, including other Beatrix Potter tributes, and which coins you should look out for.

How rare is the Peter Rabbit 50p coin?

There are actually various iterations of the Peter Rabbit 50p coin, and the scarcity varies wildly from version to version.

By far the rarest example is the 2018 coin, with a mintage of 1,400,000, which puts it sixth on the Royal Mint’s top 10 rankings alongside the Flopsy Bunny 50p from the same year.

In contrast, the 2016 Peter Rabbit coin is comparatively common, with a mintage of 9,700,000, while the 2017 version was minted 19,900,000 times.

The 2016 design was introduced to commemorate the 150th anniversary of Beatrix Potter, featuring the beloved children’s book character in an up-close, front-on portratit with prominent whiskers.

Following the popularity of this coin, the more common 2017 edition depicted Peter side-on as he hopped towards adventure.

The 2018 edition – the rarest to look out for – shows the rabbit as he was painted by the author, happily biting into radishes in the garden of the curmudgeonly Mr McGregor.

A further commemorative edition of the Peter Rabbit 50p was released in 2019 to mark the 50th anniversary of the coin.

There are other relatively rare Beatrix Potter 50p coins in circulation, with the 2018 Mrs Tittlemouse and 2016 Jemima Puddle-Duck designs having mintages of 1,700,000 and 2,100,000 respectively.

The most common coins in circulation have a mintage in the tens or even hundreds of millions – the 1997 Britannia 50p, for example, was minted 456,364,100 times.

What are the rarest 50p coins in circulation?

As well as the Beatrix Potter designs, the Royal Mint’s list of the rarest 50p is dominated by the 2011 coins released to commemorate the London 2012 Olympics.

However, the 2009 Kew Gardens 50p remains by far the rarest coin in circulation, with a mintage of just 210,000:

1. 2009 Kew Gardens, 210,000

2. 2011 Olympic Wrestling, 1,129,500

=3. 2011 Olympic Football, 1,161,500

=3. 2011 Olympic Judo, 1,161,500

5. 2011 Olympic Triathlon, 1,163,500

=6. 2018 Peter Rabbit, 1,400,000

=6. 2018 Flopsy Bunny, 1,400,000

8. 2011 Olympic Tennis, 1,454,000

9. 2011 Olympic Goalball, 1,615,500

10. 2011 Olympic Shooting, 1,656,500

How much are the Beatrix Potter 50p coins worth?

The rare coins website Change Checker has an eBay tracker, which details how some 50p coins can fetch significant sums in the secondary sale market.

According to this, the most valuable of the Beatrix Potter coins is actually the Jemima Puddle-Duck design, which fetched an average of £12.00 over the nine most recent completed eBay sales up to mid-January.

This is significantly behind the rarest Kew Gardens 50p coin, which reportedly attracted an average price of £156.00.

There are are no shortage sellers on eBay purporting to sell a range of rare 50p coins, which tend to offer the 2018 Peter Rabbit design for between £9 and £15.

It should be pointed out, as Change Checker states, the market in supposedly valuable coins “can be a bit of a minefield,” and it’s important to do your research before being taken in by viral stories of coins fetching huge sums.

Last year, for example, various reports claimed a Battle of Hastings 50p sold for £63,000 on eBay, supposedly because it was “very rare”.

This coin was launched in 2016 to commemorate the famous battle’s 950th anniversary, with as many as 6.7 million entering circulation.

Speaking to The Mirror, Alexandra Fiddons from Change Checker wasn’t able to explain exactly why the coin would sell for such a purportedly high fee, but said that sometimes “random coins” do reach surprising prices.

While some coins can fetch sums comfortably above their 50p value, often it is “error coins” – versions which found their way into circulation after being minted with mistakes – which are particularly valued by collectors.

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Eight 50p designs have been issued in 2016. A commemorative to mark 950 years since the Battle of Hastings, the standard coin with the shield design, five coins to mark the 150th Birthday of Beatrix Potter (the BEATRIX POTTER coin, Peter Rabbit, Jemima Puddle-Duck, Squirrel Nutkin and Mrs Tiggy-Winkle). A commemorative to mark the 2016 Olympic games in Rio has also been released.

Obverse Type 6 (bust design by (Mr) Jody Clark):

Reverse Type 4 (design by Matthew Dent):

Mintage for Circulation: None for circulation this is a ‘sets only’ coin.

Collectability/Scarcity: 5 (for scale details see here)

The story behind the design:

The obverse portrait of the Queen by Mr Jody Clark was introduced in March 2015 and will now be used on all circulating coinage. It is the fifth portrait of the Queen used on coinage.

The reverse design, by Matthew Dent shows the bottom part of the shield of the Royal Coat of Arms.

Commemorative 50p coin, Type 50: (info on coin type numbers here)

Obverse Type (bust design by (Mr) Jody Clark):

Reverse Type (design by John Bergdahl):

Mintage for Circulation: 6,700,000.

Collectability/Scarcity: 1 (for scale details see here)

The story behind the design:

The Battle of Hastings was one of the decisive English battles, fought by William (the Conqueror) against King Harold II, following a succession crisis for the English throne.

Commemorative 50p coin, Type 51: (info on coin type numbers here)

Obverse Type (bust design by (Mr) Jody Clark):

Reverse Type (design by Emma Noble):

Mintage for Circulation: 6,900,000.

Collectability/Scarcity: 1 (for scale details see here)

The story behind the design:

Beatrix Potter is one of the best loved English children’s book authors, born 150 years ago this year (2016). Possibly best known for the Peter Rabbit books, she was born in London. A total of 5 Beatrix Potter coins are due to be released in 2016.

Commemorative 50p coin, Type 52: (info on coin type numbers here)

Obverse Type (bust design by (Mr) Jody Clark):

Reverse Type (design by Emma Noble):

(The second reverse image shows the coloured silver proof version)

Mintage for Circulation: 9,600,000.

Collectability/Scarcity: 1 (for scale details see here)

Note that some of these coins (a lot of sightings, so assumed quite common) appear to have an extra/bungled whisker on the right side of the coin (the Rabbit’s left side). This appears to be die damage (a crack). Technically it’s not really a big deal, but on the internet things sometimes get blown out of all proportion, so expect to see them on eBay as ‘RARE’ with silly asking prices! See also question and response dated 31/7/2016 on the Coin Type Numbering page.

The story behind the design:

Beatrix Potter related, the 2nd of 5 coins. A version with coloured Peter Rabbit motif was sold as a silver proof only coin and this version has proved to be the most popular Royal Mint issue of recent years. Inevitably, some home made coloured-in coins of vastly varying quality have been appearing on eBay in an attempt to cash-in on the demand!

Commemorative 50p coin, Type 53: (info on coin type numbers here)

Obverse Type (bust design by (Mr) Jody Clark):

Reverse Type (design by Emma Noble):

(The second reverse image shows the coloured silver proof version)

Mintage for Circulation: 2,100,000.

Collectability/Scarcity: 3 – a popular coin despite normal/high mintage (for scale details see here)

The story behind the design:

Beatrix Potter related, the 3rd of 5 coins. Tabloid click-bait type hype is resulting in higher prices for these at the moment, due to the fact that it’s the 2016 Beatrix Potter coin with the lowest mintage. Despite the fact that 2.1m of them really is plenty to go round. A version with coloured Jemima Puddle-Duck motif was sold as a silver proof only coin.

Commemorative 50p coin, Type 54: (info on coin type numbers here)

Peter Rabbit 50p 2016 Half Whisker

Obverse Type (bust design by (Mr) Jody Clark):

Reverse Type (design by Emma Noble):

(The second reverse image shows the coloured silver proof version)

Mintage for Circulation: 5,000,000 at least.

Collectability/Scarcity: 1 (for scale details see here)

The story behind the design:

Beatrix Potter related, the 4th of 5 coins. A version with coloured Squirrel Nutkin motif was sold as a silver proof only coin.

Commemorative 50p coin, Type 55: (info on coin type numbers here)

Obverse Type (bust design by (Mr) Jody Clark):

Reverse Type (design by Emma Noble):

(The second reverse image shows the coloured silver proof version)

Mintage for Circulation: 8,800,000.

Collectability/Scarcity: 1 (for scale details see here)

The story behind the design:

Beatrix Potter related, the 5th of 5 coins. A version with coloured Mrs Tiggy-Winkle motif was sold as a silver proof only coin.

Commemorative 50p coin, Type 56: (info on coin type numbers here)

Obverse Type (bust design by (Mr) Jody Clark):

Reverse Type (design by Tim Sharp):

Mintage for Circulation: 6,400,000.

Collectability/Scarcity: 1 (for scale details see here)

The story behind the design:

To mark the 2016 Olympics in Rio and more specifically to support Team GB’s efforts the Royal Mint have produced this commemorative 50p.

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