50 Pence - Elizabeth II 4th portrait Aquatics, 1st issue (withdrawn) (2011)
"Withdrawn Aquatics 50p"
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Year | 2011 |
| Denomination | 50 Pence |
| Face value | 50p |
| Mint | Royal Mint · Llantrisant |
| Series | Olympic 50p (2011) |
| Circulation | Circulating |
| Composition | Copper-nickel |
| Weight | 15.500g |
| Diameter | 27.3mm |
| Shape | Equilateral curve heptagon (7-sided) |
| Edge | Plain |
| Orientation | Medal alignment ↑↑ |
| Obv. artist | Ian Rank-Broadley |
| Rev. artist | Jonathan Olliffe |
| Grade scale | UK (EF/UNC) |
Fourth crowned portrait of Queen Elizabeth II right, wearing the Girls of Great Britain and Ireland tiara, legend around.
Swimmer submerged in water, London 2012 logo above, denomination below.
50 PENCE
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Daily limit reachedAbout the 2011 50 Pence - Elizabeth II – Aquatics, 1st issue (withdrawn)
The 2011 50 Pence - Elizabeth II – Aquatics, 1st issue (withdrawn) is a circulating 50 pence coin in the Olympic 50p (2011) series, struck in copper-nickel. It weighs 15.5g and measures 27.3mm across. Reverse design: Swimmer submerged in water, London 2012 logo above, denomination below.
Common questions
How much is the 2011 50 Pence - Elizabeth II – Aquatics, 1st issue (withdrawn) worth?
No verified sale of the 2011 50 Pence - Elizabeth II – Aquatics, 1st issue (withdrawn) has been logged on MyCoinage yet.
How do I tell the withdrawn Aquatics 50p from the normal one?
Look at the swimmer's face. On the first version, water ripple lines pass across it. On the normal coin the face is unobscured, and Check Your Change notes that the lines on the body were also reduced. Everything else, including the 2011 date, is the same.
How many withdrawn Aquatics 50p coins were made?
No official figure exists. The Royal Mint Museum says only that a small number were issued with the original design, and Change Checker says the exact quantity remains a mystery. The Royal Mint's mintage of 2,179,000 for the Aquatics 50p does not separate the two versions.
Why was the Aquatics 50p design changed?
According to the Royal Mint Museum, the early version had water ripple lines passing across the swimmer's face, and it was decided very early in production that this obscured the design too much. The lines were removed from the face for the rest of the run.
Is the Aquatics 50p with lines on the face a mint error?
Not in the usual sense. It is an earlier version of the design that was struck deliberately and then revised, so it is better described as a withdrawn first issue or a design variety. Collector sites often list it as an error all the same.
Are there fake withdrawn Aquatics 50p coins?
Yes. The Royal Mint Museum says the scarcity of the first version has led to a higher than usual number of counterfeiting attempts. Check Your Change also warns of normal coins with extra lines scratched in to imitate it.
How do I identify the 2011 50 Pence - Elizabeth II – Aquatics, 1st issue (withdrawn)?
Check the weight 15.5g and diameter 27.3mm and the metal (copper-nickel) against the specification table on this page. The reverse design is described above.
History and design
The London 2012 Aquatics 50p exists in two versions. This is the first, on which the lines of the water run across the swimmer's face. It belongs to the series of 29 sport designs, all dated 2011, issued for the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games.
The Royal Mint Museum's account is short. An early version of the design had water ripple lines passing across the swimmer's face, and it was decided very early in production that this obscured the design too much. A small number of coins were issued with the original design, while the vast majority show the face unobscured.
No official count of the first version has been published. The Royal Mint's mintage figures give one number for the Aquatics 50p, 2,179,000, and do not separate the two versions. Change Checker, which tracks circulating coins, says the exact quantity "remains a mystery".
The reverse is by Jonathan Olliffe, a silversmith, who also designed the Gymnastics coin in the series. It shows a swimmer partly beneath the surface, with the London 2012 logo above and 50 PENCE below. Olliffe told the Royal Mint Museum he chose the sport for the challenge of "creating the illusion of water on a coin", and that after many sketches he "eventually arrived at engraved lines to create that illusion of water".
Those engraved lines are the whole difference between the two versions. On this first issue they continue over the swimmer's face. On the revised coin the face is clear.
The obverse carries the fourth portrait of Queen Elizabeth II by Ian Rank-Broadley, and the edge is plain.
Varieties and errors
This coin is itself the variety. It is often sold as an "error", but it was an intended design that the Mint then revised, not a striking fault. The normal coin is the second issue Aquatics 50p.
Collecting notes
Compare the swimmer's face with a normal Aquatics 50p before anything else. Lines across the face mark the first issue. Check Your Change adds that the revised coin also has fewer lines on the swimmer's body.
Counterfeits are a real concern. The Royal Mint Museum says the scarcity of the original design has produced a higher than usual number of attempts at counterfeiting it. Check Your Change warns of two kinds: normal coins with extra lines scratched into the face, and struck fakes, on which it says the Queen's portrait is more frosted, the ear and eye are poorly formed and the lettering is thinner.
Check Your Change reports that the first issue coins were found in the sealed individual packs sold by the Royal Mint, and that probably all the coins put into circulation are the revised design. Change Checker says a few originals are in circulation. Neither view is confirmed by the Royal Mint.
Sources
The history, design, varieties and collecting notes on this page are drawn from these sources. Prices come from recorded sales, not from them.
- Aquatics fifty pence piece, The Royal Mint Museum (read 9 Oct 2026)
- 2011 Elizabeth II London Olympic Aquatics 50p Coin, The Royal Mint (read 9 Oct 2026)
- Proclamation determining the specifications and designs for fifty pence coins commemorating the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games, London Gazette issue 59419, 14 May 2010, The Gazette (read 9 Oct 2026)
- UK coin mintage figures (data file), The Royal Mint (read 9 Oct 2026)
- 50p Coin Designs and Specifications, The Royal Mint (read 9 Oct 2026)
- 2011 Fifty Pence, London Olympic Coins, Check Your Change (read 9 Oct 2026)
- Do you own the rarest Olympic 50p?, Change Checker (read 9 Oct 2026)
- 2011 Olympic Aquatics 50p (London 2012), Coin Hunter (read 9 Oct 2026)
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