50 Pence - Elizabeth II Archery Gold Proof (2011)
Circulating version: 2011 50 Pence - Elizabeth II – Archery
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Year | 2011 |
| Denomination | 50 Pence |
| Face value | 50p |
| Mintage | 1 |
| Mint | Royal Mint · Llantrisant |
| Series | Olympic 50p (2011) |
| Circulation | Non-circulating |
| Composition | Gold (.9167) (917/1000 fine) |
| Weight | 15.500g · 0.4568 t oz |
| Diameter | 27.3mm |
| Shape | Equilateral curve heptagon (7-sided) |
| Orientation | Medal alignment ↑↑ |
| Grade scale | UK (EF/UNC) |
Fourth crowned portrait of Queen Elizabeth II right, wearing the Girls of Great Britain and Ireland tiara, legend around
Hand holding arrow, bow string drawn, London 2012 logo above, denomination below.
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Daily limit reachedAbout the 2011 50 Pence - Elizabeth II Archery – Gold Proof
The 2011 50 Pence - Elizabeth II Archery – Gold Proof is a collector 50 pence coin in the Olympic 50p (2011) series, struck in 91.67% gold. It weighs 15.5g and measures 27.3mm across. Reverse design: Hand holding arrow, bow string drawn, London 2012 logo above, denomination below.
Common questions
How much is the 2011 50 Pence - Elizabeth II Archery – Gold Proof worth?
No verified sale of the 2011 50 Pence - Elizabeth II Archery – Gold Proof has been logged on MyCoinage yet. Its gold content is worth about £1,373 at today's spot price, which puts a floor under its value.
How is the 2011 50 Pence - Elizabeth II Archery – Gold Proof different from the circulating coin?
This is a collector version of the 2011 50 Pence - Elizabeth II – Archery, not the coin found in change. At 15.5g of 91.67% gold it is heavier than the 8g nickel circulating coin, so weighing it is the quickest check.
How do I identify the 2011 50 Pence - Elizabeth II Archery – Gold Proof?
Check the weight 15.5g and diameter 27.3mm and the metal (91.67% gold) against the specification table on this page. The reverse design is described above.
History and design
This is a collector version of the 50 Pence - Elizabeth II – Archery. The history below is that coin's; the mintage, varieties and collecting notes on its page do not apply to this strike.
The Archery 50p is the most plentiful of the 29 coins issued for the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games. The series gave one design to each sport, all dated 2011, and the designs were chosen through a competition open to the public.
The Royal Mint's figures give a circulating mintage of 3,345,500. No other coin in the series comes close: Athletics is next at 2,224,000, a gap of more than 1.1 million, and the lowest, Football, stands at 1,125,500. The Royal Mint itself describes Archery as one of the more widely circulated coins in the series.
Among all 50p coins dated 2011 it is nearly level with the WWF commemorative, at 3,400,000.
The reverse was designed by Piotr Powaga and selected from more than 30,000 public submissions. It does not show an archer. It shows a hand drawing back a bowstring with the arrow in place, described in the royal proclamation as "a bow being drawn".
Powaga told the Royal Mint Museum that he wanted to avoid a human silhouette and "focus on one aspect which is the essence of the whole thing". He first considered the archer's eye and the muscles pulling the bow, but found it "too much" for so small a space. The final idea came when he asked his wife to hold something and pretend to draw a bow. He also said he was looking for "some kind of link between ancient sports and Olympic Games today".
Above the hand is the London 2012 Paralympic logo, one of five designs in the series to carry it in place of the Olympic logo. Below is the denomination, 50 PENCE.
The obverse carries the fourth portrait of Queen Elizabeth II by Ian Rank-Broadley, in which she wears the Girls of Great Britain and Ireland tiara. The edge is plain.
Sources
- 2011 Elizabeth II London Olympic Archery 50p Coin, The Royal Mint (read 9 Oct 2026)
- Archery fifty pence piece, The Royal Mint Museum (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 Olympic Archery 50p (London 2012), Coin Hunter (read 9 Oct 2026)
- Do you own the rarest Olympic 50p?, Change Checker (read 9 Oct 2026)
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