Sherlock Holmes 50p. A classic Sherlock Holmes silhouette, complete with pipe and deerstalker hat, will appear on a commemorative 50p, marking the 160th birthday of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. One of the newest 50p coins is the Sherlock Holmes coin. Minted in 2019, it commemorates the 160 th anniversary of the birth of his creator, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. The number in circulation is not yet known so this is a great coin to add to any collection. History of the coin. A seller on eBay is flogging an “extremely rare” Sherlock Holmes 50p coin for a whopping £6,815. The rare coin was created to mark the 160th birthday of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, author of the detective series, who was born in 1859. It first came into circulation back in 2019 and they are immensely popular among coin collectors. The Sherlock Holmes 50p features a design by Stephen Raw of a silhouette of Sherlock surrounded by names of the tales written by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, the creator of Sherlock Holmes. This 50p coin is in tribute to the 160th anniversary of the birth of Doyle.
Every year The Royal Mint mark the year’s memorable events and anniversaries that capture the nation by striking these stories onto circulating coins, and 2019 is no different.
Today, The Royal Mint have unveiled the new themes and designs for all the 2019 commemorative coins, and Change Checkers can look forward to some fascinating British anniversaries being commemorated.
50p: The 160th anniversary of the birth of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
As the father of modern crime writing, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s legacy lives on 160 years since his birth, thanks to his iconic creation – Britain’s greatest detective, Sherlock Holmes™.
The classic tales of Sherlock Holmes and his sidekick Dr. Watson are treasured reads which have led Doyle to become one of the most famous writers in the world.
Reverse designer: Stephen Raw
£2: The 260th anniversary of the formation of Wedgwood
The industrial revolution of the 18th century shaped Britain’s future and brought about great social changes and technological advancements. Josiah Wedgwood created his pottery empire using modern mass production methods, which we still use today.
Reverse designer: Wedgwood Design Team
This coin is now available to purchase individually in Brilliant Uncirculated quality here.
£2: The 75th anniversary of the D-Day Landings
On the 6th of June 1944, the D-Day landings turned the tide of the Second World War. Allied troops landed at five different beaches codenamed Utah, Omaha, Gold, Juno and Sword for the largest amphibious assault ever launched. This gave them a position from which they could advance into Germany and paved the way for victory on the Western Front and the liberation of Europe.
Reverse designer: Stephen Taylor
> (opens in a new tab)' href='https://www.westminstercollection.com/p-438Y/2019-UK-D-Day-CERTIFIED-BU-2-Pound-Coin.aspx?utm_source=chch%20blog&utm_medium=blog&utm_content=first%20look%20new%20royal%20mint%20coin%20designs%20for%202019&sn=3&brand=changechecker' target='_blank'>This coin is now available to purchase individually in Brilliant Uncirculated quality here.
£2: The 350th anniversary of Samuel Pepy’s last diary entry
Samuel Pepy’s diary entries provide detailed and personal observations from some of Britain’s most significant moments in history, such as the Restoration, the Plague and the Great Fire of London. His diary has been essential for understanding these events and their impact on people at the time and give invaluable first-hand insights.
Reverse designer: Gary Breeze
This coin is now available to purchase individually in Brilliant Uncirculated quality here.
£5: The 200th anniversary of the birth of Queen Victoria
At her birth in 1819, no one knew that Queen Victoria’s reign would span the rest of the century and make her one Britain’s most famous rulers. She came to the throne aged just 18 years old, at a time when Britain’s Empire was growing and becoming the world’s pre-eminent superpower in an era of unrivalled peace and prosperity.
Reverse designer: John Bergdahl Online casino florida.
> (opens in a new tab)' href='https://www.westminstercollection.com/p-428X/2019-UK-Queen-Victoria-CERTIFIED-BU-5-Pound.aspx?utm_source=chch%20blog&utm_medium=blog&utm_content=first%20look%20new%20royal%20mint%20coin%20designs%20for%202019&sn=h&brand=changechecker' target='_blank'>This coin is now available to purchase individually in Brilliant Uncirculated quality here.
The announcement of the year’s coins is always an exciting moment for Change Checkers, particularly when the anniversaries are as significant as these.
And now we can now start looking forward to finding these new designs in our change throughout the year!
Own the 2019 Commemorative Coin Set
If you can’t wait to find these coins in your change, be one of the first to own the complete set!
A new 50p coin celebrating Sherlock Holmes has entered general circulation, meaning the great detective could pop up in your change at any point from now on.
If you do find the coin, which bears the deerstalker-and-pipe enthusiast’s silhouette, it could be worth more than face value.
But since the Royal Mint is yet to confirm how scarce the coin actually is, its true value would be a mystery for even Sherlock Holmes himself.
Read on to find out which rare 50ps are the most valuable, and how likely you are to be handed one at the till.
How much is the Sherlock Holmes 50p worth?
50p Sherlock Holmes
Earlier in May, multiple versions the Sherlock Holmes coin became available for purchase on the Royal Mint website to celebrate the 160th anniversary of author Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s birth.
The design features the deerstalker-clad detective surrounded by the titles of some of his most famous stories.
The cheapest version was a brilliant uncirculated coin in a presentation pack, which is still available for £10.
Other versions, including limited edition silver and gold proof coins, retailed at up to £795 each before they sold out.
These collector’s coins have since appeared on eBay, though they don’t always fetch a lot.
The out-of-stock silver proof version of the coin appears to have sold for around £85 – more than its £55 price from the Royal Mint. But it has also sold for close to £40, which is significantly less.
The brilliant uncirculated version sold for a maximum of £11.50 between 23 and 28 May – just £1.50 more than its retail value. This was an exception, as it most often sold for less.
The circulated version of the coin, however, does have the potential to fetch big figures. But only if there aren’t too many of them.
Is the Sherlock Holmes 50p rare enough?
The most valuable circulated 50p at the moment is the 2009 Kew Gardens coin, which goes for upwards of £100 on eBay.
It’s worth so much because of its low mintage – only 210,000 entered circulation. In contrast, the 2016 Peter Rabbit coin was minted over 9 million times.
Mintage figures for the Sherlock Holmes 50p are unlikely to be available any time soon. But if it turns out to be similarly scarce, collectors could see Kew Gardens-level prices.
According to coin collection site Change Checker, the Kew Gardens 50p was overlooked for years until official mintage figures were revealed in 2014.
At the moment there is no way of knowing whether something similar will happen with the Sherlock Holmes coin.
If you do find it in your change, though, it might not be worth selling yet. Change Checker tells us that collectors would be unlikely to pay more for a circulation-quality Sherlock Holmes 50p than they would for the £10 brilliant uncirculated version, which is still available to purchase.
Which other rare 50ps should I look out for?
The Royal Mint has already released at least four new commemorative 50ps coins and coin sets this year – one of them even commemorated other commemorative 50ps.
50p Sherlock Holmes
In March, the Mint released a Stephen Hawking 50p to celebrate the influential scientist, and a full-colour Peter Rabbit 50p – following the 2016 line of non-colour Beatrix Potter character coins.
More children’s literature was recognised when Julia Donaldson’s Gruffalo earned its own 50p in February.
The difference between these 50ps and the Sherlock Holmes 50p, however, is that none of them have entered circulation so far.
This means the only way you’ll find them in your change is if a collector accidentally spends one. For the most part, you’ll have to buy them online to add them to your collection.
There are, however, a number of rare 50ps which are in circulation that you could very well end up finding. Especially if you apply a Sherlockian level of focus.
After the Kew Gardens coin, the second-rarest 50p by mintage is 2017’s Sir Isaac Newton coin. The circulated version appears to have sold for a range of prices between £1.04 and £3.99 on eBay in the week leading up to this article.
There are also a number of 2012 London Olympic Games coins that regularly sell above face value online. Some sports are more valuable than others, with the tongue-in-cheek football coin that ‘explains’ the offside rule often selling for the most.
It’s best to take eBay listings with a pinch of salt, however. Sellers can inflate prices by setting high starting bids, and could in theory manipulate the market by bidding on their own products.
Ultimately, a rare coin is only worth as much as a collector will pay for it. If you put your rare 50p on the market, you may not end up making money.
The Which? Money Podcast spoke to several coin collectors and the Royal Mint for an episode on rare coin collecting. You can listen to it here: