Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II was the United Kingdom’s longest reigning monarch, with an incredible 70 years of service to the crown, the first British Monarch to reach such an incredible milestone.
In tribute to this record-breaking achievement,The Royal Mintissued the UK’s very first 50p to mark a royal event.
On Monday 7th February 2022, a total of 1.3 million coins entered Post Office tills across the UK to enter circulation for the very first time. A further 3.7 million were released later that year.
Having only been recently released in 2022, it is quite possible for you to find thisfifty-pence coin in your change. Have you found one? This article provides all the necessary information about the circulating coin issued to commemorate this historical Royal event.
History of the 2022 Platinum Jubilee 50p coin
Royal events and anniversaries are generally celebrated by The Royal Mint oncrown-sized pieces. However, the 2022 Platinum Jubilee Fifty Pence pieces mark the first time that a monarchic milestone has been featured on a 50p coin.
2022 marked seventy years sinceQueen Elizabeth IIascended the throne. She became our monarch on the death of her father,George VI, in 1952 and was crowned at Westminster Abbeythe following year. Seven decades on she became our longest reigning monarch and celebrated a remarkable milestone, achieved by no other British King or Queen: a Platinum Jubilee.
In the UK, the event was celebrated with a unique four-day summer Bank Holiday, tree plantings, street parties, and parades.
Design of the Coin
The 2022 Platinum Jubilee 50p features a minimalist but elegant '70' motif by design agencyOsbourne Ross and fills the reverse of this 50p coin. Within the zero sits a crowned royal cypher with the anniversary dates below: 1952-2022. It's a clean-lined and instantly recognisable motif that will be easy to spot if you receive it in your change.
Towards the bottom, at the left of the base of the zero, the initials AR DO can be seen, which represent the designers Andrew Ross and Deborah Osborne from the design agencyOsbourne Ross.
The Platinum Jubilee 50p, however, has two different obverse designs depending on whether you find one of the coins in circulation or purchase an uncirculated version directly from theRoyal Mint.
Circulated versions of the 2022 Platinum Jubilee 50p will show the current definitive effigy of Elizabeth II designed by Jody Clark and these are the ones you will receive in your change.
The obverse features a right-facing portrait of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II with the inscription ‘50 PENCE · 2022 · ELIZABETH · II · D · G · REG · F · D.
This is the fifth portrait of Her Majesty the Queen by artist Jody Clark. Her initials JC are present below the Queen's neckline. This design has been used on coins since 2015.
Special collectors editions feature John Berghdahl's horse and garter designwiththe obverse showing the Queen on horseback. It is a tribute to previous jubilee crowns that have been minted, including the1977 Jubilee Crown, and the1953 Coronation Crown andwas also featured on the Silver Jubilee and Golden Jubilee Royal Mint coins.
This is a nostalgic item that longtime coin collectors will easily recognize. The unique design on the uncirculated versions of the coin sets it apart from those found in everyday change.
Specifications:
Denomination50p
Year2022
Weight8.00g
Diameter27.30mm
Reverse DesignerOsbourne Ross Agency
Obverse DesignerJody Clark / John Bergdahl
MetalCupro-Nickel
Mintage5,000,070
Mintage of the 2022 Platinum Jubilee 50p coin
According to the Royal Mint the official mintage of this coin is 5,000,070. With a mintage of just over 5 million it is similar to the 2022 Pride 50p coinand the 2018 Paddington at the Station 50p coin.
Like most commemorative 50p coins, the Royal Mint issued the Platinum Jubilee 50p in a variety of uncirculated versions for collectors to purchase directly from their website.
The total number of Brilliant Uncirculated versions has yet to be confirmed, but a total of 5,000 Silver Proof 50p coins were issued, 2,500 Silver Proof piedfort 50p coins and just 400 Gold Proof versions of the 2022 Platinum 50p were issued.
Is the 2022 Platinum Jubilee 50p rare?
With5 million put into circulation and only released in 2022, the coin can still be found in your change. Therefore, it is not considered a rare commemorative coin and you are likely to find one in your change. But, as collectors are keeping them to add to their collections and others have kept them as a memento to mark this historical event, the coins willbecome more difficult to find in years to come.
Also released in the same year, the 2022 Pride 50p had a mintage of 5,000,000 and the Queen Elizabeth II Memorial 50p had a mintage of 9.6 million.
How much is it worth?
The Royal Mint's UK currency director Mark Loveridge said he expects it to become 'one of the nation's most collectible coins.' Of course, that might not necessarily mean in terms of monetary value. It could just be that people really want them.
Collectibles are only ever worth as much as a collector is willing to pay but at the moment collectors are willing to pay around £3-£4 for a circulated version of this coin in excellent condition. Uncirculated versions and the special horseback obverse design will be considerably more.
Where can I buy a 2022 Platinum Jubilee 50p coin?
If you can't find one in the wild, you do have another option: special versions areavailable from ourselves by clicking here.
Online market places such as eBay and Amazon have coins available, but as always, check out the seller, the listing description, photos and do as much research before buying.
TheRoyal Minthas an online shop where you can buy various coins in circulated, uncirculated, silver proof and gold proof condition, but as we mentioned, they no longer stock the Silver or Gold proof versions of the 2022 Platinum Jubilee 50p coin.
Are there any known errors for the Platinum Jubilee 50p coin?
TheRoyal Minthas not confirmed any official errors for this coin.
Bit of trivia...
On 9th September 2015, The Queen became the longest reigning Monarch in British history, surpassing the reign of her great-great-grandmother Queen Victoria.In a speech given on the historic day during an engagement in the Scottish Borders, Her Majesty said, "Inevitably a long life can pass by many milestones - my own is no exception - but I thank you all and the many others at home and overseas for your touching messages of great kindness."
Her Majesty’s first solo public engagement (as Princess Elizabeth) was on 21st April 1942, her sixteenth birthday, when she inspected the Grenadier Guards at Windsor Castle.
