This highly sought-after piece features an image of the Kew Gardens pagoda on one side
Brits have been urged to check their change for a coveted 50p in circulation that is worth far more than its face value. This sought-after piece from 2009 can fetch as much as £150 at auction.
In a video posted to social media platform TikTok, an expert known as the Coin Collecting Wizard explained what to look for. He described the Kew Gardens 50p as the “holy grail” of coin collecting.
This coin features an image of the gardens’ famous Chinese pagoda on its reverse side (the tail side). In the video he asked viewers to guess which coin out of several was worth £150, revealing the Kew Gardens coin at the end.
“This is the holy grail of UK coin hunting – the Kew Gardens 50p,” he said. “With only 210,000 ever minted this can fetch £150 today.”
According to the Royal Mint, collectors “go crazy” for the Kew Gardens 50p. On its website it said: “If you were to ask collectors which coin got them started, the chances are it was the 50p.
“Over the years, the coin has been issued in a huge range of commemorative editions celebrating every aspect of British culture, from athletes to authors. The sheer variety has sparked a collecting craze but of all the 50p coins, the Kew Gardens 50p is arguably the most sought-after.
“Nothing gets people excited quite like this original 2009 design. Just 210,000 were released into circulation and with almost all of them in private hands, the chances of coming across one in your change are slim.”
Explaining more about the design of the coin, it said: “The venerable institution depicted on the Kew Gardens 50p coin is the nation’s most famous royal botanical garden. The reverse design, created by Christopher Le Brun RA, features the famous Chinese Pagoda at Kew with a decorative leafy climber twining in and around the tower.
“Demand for the 50p denomination was not high at the time of release into circulation which explains the low mintage of this particular design.”
However, in 2023 the Kew Gardens coin was knocked off its top spot as the UK’s rarest 50p coin by the new Atlantic salmon design which marked King Charles III’s accession to the throne.