Uncommon: fewer than 10,000,000 minted. Sells often: 117 verified sales in the last 12 months.
50 Pence - Elizabeth II 4th portrait Benjamin Britten (2013)
"Benjamin Britten 50p"
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Year | 2013 |
| Denomination | 50 Pence |
| Face value | 50p |
| Mintage | 5,300,000 |
| Mint | Royal Mint · Llantrisant |
| Circulation | Circulating |
| Composition | Copper-nickel |
| Weight | 8.000g |
| Diameter | 27.3mm |
| Thickness | 1.78mm |
| Shape | Equilateral curve heptagon (7-sided) |
| Edge | Plain |
| Orientation | Medal alignment ↑↑ |
| Obv. artist | Ian Rank-Broadley |
| Rev. artist | Tom Phillips |
| Grade scale | UK (EF/UNC) |
Fourth crowned portrait of Queen Elizabeth II right, wearing the Girls of Great Britain and Ireland tiara, legend around.
ELIZABETH · II D · G · REG · F · D FIFTY PENCE · 2013
Lettering across seven horizontal lines with two musical staves.
Benjamin Britten 50p market value
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AffiliateBenjamin Britten 50p price history
Daily limit reachedBenjamin Britten 50p value by grade
Realised auction prices · ⭐ Pro Expand rows for individual sale records| Grade | Latest | Median | 30d Δ | All-time range | Sales (1yr) | Total sales | Last sale | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FDC | £5.00 🔒 eBay | £5.00 (1) | – | £5.00 – £5.00 | 1 | 1 | 23-08-2026 | |
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| UNC | £9.86 🔒 eBay | £8.61 | – | £2.24 – £9.86 | 4 | 4 | 24-07-2026 | |
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| BU | £44.95 🔒 eBay | £38.40 | – | £11.54 – £52.25 | 12 | 12 | 12-09-2026 | |
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| EF | £7.59 🔒 eBay | £7.59 (2) | – | £7.59 – £7.59 | 2 | 2 | 09-05-2026 | |
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| VF | £0.63 🔒 eBay | £2.22 | ▲30.3% | £0.53 – £46.99 | 98 | 98 | 16-10-2026 | |
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About the 2013 50 Pence - Elizabeth II – Benjamin Britten
The 2013 50 Pence - Elizabeth II – Benjamin Britten is a circulating 50 pence coin, struck in copper-nickel. It weighs 8g and measures 27.3mm across. Reverse design: Lettering across seven horizontal lines with two musical staves.
5,300,000 were struck.
Common questions
How much is the 2013 50 Pence - Elizabeth II – Benjamin Britten worth?
Verified sold prices for the 2013 50 Pence - Elizabeth II – Benjamin Britten run from £2.22 to £38.40 across 5 grades, taking the median for each grade. Condition makes the difference, so check the grade table above before pricing one.
How many Benjamin Britten 50p coins were made?
The Royal Mint's mintage figures give 5,300,000 struck for circulation, all dated 2013. Brilliant Uncirculated coins and proofs in silver and gold were sold separately to collectors and are not included in that figure.
Is the Benjamin Britten 50p rare?
Not by mintage. The Royal Mint's figures give 5,300,000 for circulation, fewer than the 7,000,000 of the other 2013 commemorative 50p, for Christopher Ironside, but many times the 210,000 of the 2009 Kew Gardens coin. It is the less common of the two 2013 designs.
Who designed the Benjamin Britten 50p?
The artist Tom Phillips designed the reverse, which sets Britten's name on a double stave between two lines from Tennyson. The obverse has the fourth portrait of Queen Elizabeth II by Ian Rank-Broadley, with FIFTY PENCE and the date 2013.
What do the words on the Britten 50p mean?
BLOW BUGLE BLOW and SET THE WILD ECHOES FLYING are words by the poet Tennyson that Britten set to music in his Serenade for Tenor, Horn and Strings. Tom Phillips chose them as a clarion call for a musical anniversary.
Is the Benjamin Britten 50p legal tender?
Yes. The royal proclamation for the coin made the cupro-nickel 50p legal tender throughout the United Kingdom, and it is the same size and weight as every 50p issued since 1997. It was struck for general circulation and can still be found in change.
How do I identify the 2013 50 Pence - Elizabeth II – Benjamin Britten?
Check the weight 8g 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
Benjamin Britten was born on 22 November 1913, the feast day of St Cecilia, patron saint of music. The Royal Mint marked the centenary with a 50p developed with the Britten-Pears Foundation. Its launch material called it the first British coin to feature a composer.
The royal proclamation for the coin was made on 12 December 2012. The Mint revealed the design on 2 September 2013 and sold collector versions from 27 September, with the circulating coin due to follow later that year.
The Royal Mint's figures give 5,300,000 struck for circulation. Two commemorative 50p coins are dated 2013, and this is the lower of the two: the Christopher Ironside coin has 7,000,000. Both sit well below that year's standard Royal Shield 50p at 10,301,000.
The artist Tom Phillips designed the reverse, and it is made entirely of lettering. The name BENJAMIN BRITTEN is framed on a double stave, the two halves separated by COMPOSER BORN 1913. BLOW BUGLE BLOW runs across the top and SET THE WILD ECHOES FLYING across the base.
The words are Tennyson's, set to music by Britten in his Serenade for Tenor, Horn and Strings. The double stave refers to the piano, on which Britten was a virtuoso. Phillips said: "What I wanted the coin to speak of was music." He described the quotation as a clarion call for a musical anniversary.
With no room for a value on the reverse, the obverse carries FIFTY PENCE and the date 2013 around Ian Rank-Broadley's fourth portrait of the Queen. The Royal Mint describes it as the first UK 50p to show both date and denomination on the obverse. The edge is plain.
Collecting notes
No recognised varieties or mint errors are documented for this coin.
Check the obverse as well as the reverse. A genuine coin has FIFTY PENCE and 2013 beside the portrait, which is unusual for a 50p of this period and a quick way to confirm you have the right piece.
The proclamation ordered the coin in cupro-nickel, silver, silver piedfort and gold. Brilliant Uncirculated coins were sold in a folder with reproductions of Britten's manuscripts. None of these collector strikes counts towards the 5,300,000.
It is a current-size 50p and was issued for general circulation, so it can still turn up in change. The other commemorative of the year is the Christopher Ironside 50p.
Sources
The history, design, varieties and collecting notes on this page are drawn from these sources. Prices come from recorded sales, not from them.
- 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)
- 2013 Elizabeth II 'The 100th Anniversary of the Birth of Benjamin Britten' 50p Coin, The Royal Mint (read 9 Oct 2026)
- The 100th Anniversary of the Birth of Benjamin Britten 2013 UK 50p Coin, The Royal Mint (read 9 Oct 2026)
- Proclamation determining the specifications and design for fifty pence coins commemorating the hundredth anniversary of the birth of Benjamin Britten, London Gazette issue 60356, 14 December 2012, pages 24042 to 24043, The Gazette (read 9 Oct 2026)
- The Royal Mint's Benjamin Britten 50p strikes a musical note, CoinsWeekly (read 9 Oct 2026)
- Britten Centenary Coin, Tom Phillips (read 9 Oct 2026)
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