⭐ The reference
Coin Grading Guide
Sheldon 1-70 scale, UK descriptive grades, the full UK ↔ US crossover, a five-step grading technique, and the twelve most-asked grading questions. The manual every collector needs before putting a value on a coin.

Famous coins & rarities

38 guides

Specific coins everyone has heard of: Kew Gardens, Atlantic Salmon, the 1933 penny, the Olympic Football 50p, the 1983 New Pence error.

⭐
Rare UK Coins List (Top 25)
The 25 most valuable modern UK coins ranked, with prices and identifying features.
🏅
Rare 50p Coins UK (Top 25)
The definitive top-25 ranking of rare UK 50p coins, from the 2023 Atlantic Salmon to the Olympic Football, with verified mintages and realised prices.
🏆
Rare £2 Coins UK (Top 15)
The definitive top-15 ranking of rare bimetallic £2 coins by mintage.
💰
1933 Penny Value
Britain's most famous modern rarity, fewer than 10 in existence. Auction history, ownership record, fake-spotting.
🐝
Bee £1 Coin Value
Is the King Charles Bees £1 rare? Mintage 10,030,000 says no — real sold prices inside.
💷
Rare Banknote Serial Numbers
AA01 first-runs, low serials, ladders and radars — which numbers are worth money.
🌿
Kew Gardens 50p Value
Britain's most famous modern 50p: 2009 Pagoda, mintage 210,000, authentication, realised auction prices.
🐟
Atlantic Salmon 50p Value
The 2023 Charles III 50p that overtook Kew Gardens as the rarest in circulation. Privy mark, mintage and prices.
🏛
1992-93 EU Presidency 50p
The lowest-mintage UK 50p ever (109,000), twelve-chair design, prices, authentication.
⚠
1983 "New Pence" 2p Error
The most-famous Royal Mint mule, wrong reverse legend, £500-£2,500+ realised, how to spot and authenticate.
💷
1971 50p Value
How much is a 1971 50p worth? Decimal Day inaugural fifty-pence: mintage 188 million, BU and silver-proof variants.
⚠
2008 Undated 20p Mule
The 2008 obverse-reverse mule with no date on either side: identification, mintage, current realised £50-£250+.
⚽
Olympic Football 50p
The rarest of the 29 London 2012 Olympic 50ps: 1,125,500 minted, the offside-rule diagram.
🤝
Brexit 50p Value
£1-3 circulated, £55-90 silver proof, the 2019-dated rarity that escaped melting (£5,000+).
🐼
WWF 50p Value UK
The 2011 Wildlife Conservation 50p: real eBay prices £1.50-3, mintage 3.4M (16× more common than Kew Gardens), why TikTok overhypes it.
🏃
2002 Commonwealth Games £2
The rarest circulating £2: Northern Ireland 485,500, all four nation prices, set values.
🇪🇺
1973 EEC 50p Value
Britain's first commemorative 50p, 1973 European Economic Community accession, designer Christopher Ironside, mintage 89.8 million.
🪙
2017 New 12-Sided £1
The 12-sided pound launched 28 March 2017 by 15-year-old designer David Pearce. Round £1 demonetisation, anti-counterfeit features, realised prices.
👑
2023 Coronation 50p
Charles III's first commemorative 50p: St Edward's Crown design, all 4 variants, current realised prices.
💷
Cheap Rare UK Coins Under £50
Twelve genuinely collectable rare British coins you can pick up under £50.
🔎
Is My 50p Rare?
The 5-step check for any UK 50p: year, design, mintage, authenticity, where to sell.
🔎
Is My £2 Rare?
The 4-step check for any UK £2: bimetallic vs single-metal, design, mintage, edge inscription. 2002 Commonwealth Games NI £2 is the rarest at 485,500.
🔎
Is My £1 Rare?
The 3-step check for round and 12-sided £1: format, design, mintage. The 2011 City of Edinburgh round £1 (935,000) is the rarest UK £1 ever.
🕵️
Sherlock Holmes 50p Value
2019 issue, mintage 8.6m, designer Stephen Raw, marking Conan Doyle's 160th. Realised prices, fakes, and where to sell.
⚫
Stephen Hawking 50p Value
2019 Royal Mint black hole 50p by Edwina Ellis. BU £10-18, silver proof £55-110, gold proof £1,100-1,800 (mintage 400). Never circulated.
🪙
I Found a Rare Coin: What To Do
Step-by-step UK guide to a rare coin find: identify, authenticate, value, decide.
💷
1952 Penny Value UK
George VI's death-year penny: post-Indian-independence FIDEI DEF legend, single-figure surviving population, comparison vs 1950 and 1951.
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Victorian Penny Value UK
Bun Head 1860-1894 vs Old Head 1895-1901: key dates (1869, 1882-no-H, 1895 dot/no-dot), varieties and realised auction prices.
🎖
1965 Churchill Crown Value
Sir Winston Churchill memorial cupronickel crown, first British coin to depict a non-royal subject. Mintage 19.6M, realised prices and authentication.
💍
1981 Royal Wedding Crown Value
Charles + Diana wedding crown 29 July 1981. Three formats: cupronickel circulation, sterling silver proof, gold proof £100.
🌹
Princess Diana Coin Value UK
1999 Memorial £5 crown by Mark Richards. BU £15-45, silver proof £40-90, Piedfort £150-280, gold proof £5,000-6,500. The four formats explained.
🥈
1947: UK Silver Debasement
The year British silver coinage went cupronickel. Shilling/florin/sixpence/threepence/half crown after 1946 contain no silver.
⚖
1920 Silver Transition UK
Sterling 92.5% silver dropped to .500 alloy in 1920. The pre-1920 vs 1920+ premium gap explained, with realised prices.
🕯
2022 Charles III Memorial Coinage
The first Charles III issues, QEII memorial 50p, £5 crown, sovereign. Mintages, realised prices, authentication.
👑
100 Most Valuable UK Coins
The definitive ranking of the 100 most valuable British coins by realised auction price, from modern rarities to milled classics.
🔎
Most Wanted Coins by Collectors
The 20 UK coins collectors chase hardest, ranked by real sales volume rather than opinion.
✈
Battle of Britain 50p Value
The 2015 Battle of Britain 50p: mintage, the withdrawn first design, and what circulated examples realise.
🍎
Isaac Newton 50p Value
The 2017 Newton 50p, including the Woolsthorpe Manor limited release that trades far above face value.

Start here, beginner guides

4 guides

New to coin collecting? Start with how to begin, what to buy first, common myths to avoid and how the 50p / sovereign / commemorative markets actually work.

Denomination guides

20 guides

Every UK denomination, decimal and pre-decimal, 1p through £5, sovereigns, half sovereigns and the historical guinea.

🪙
1p Coin Values UK
Bronze vs steel, magnet test, silver proofs, 2024 zero-mintage milestone.
🪙
2p Coin Values UK
The 1983 "New Pence" error, pre-decimal rarities, what every 2p is worth.
🪙
5p Coin Values UK
Large vs small format, silver proofs, 2012 nickel-plated steel switch.
🔤
10p Coin Values UK
The full Great British Coin Hunt A-Z list with mintage numbers and the rarest letters.
🔍
20p Coin Values UK
The 2008 undated 20p mule story and how to identify one of the most famous UK error coins.
💶
£1 Coin Values UK
Old round £1 vs the new 12-sided coin: identify rarities and know which to exchange.
🏛
Capital Cities £1 Set
2010-2011 London/Belfast/Cardiff/Edinburgh, the rarest round £1 ever (Edinburgh 935,000).
🪙
£2 Coin Values UK
Complete guide to bimetallic £2 coin values, from the rare Commonwealth Games NI to Olympic Handover.
🎖
£5 Coin Values UK
Commemorative crowns 1990-onwards: cupronickel, silver proof, silver Piedfort, gold proof.
🎖
Crown Coin Values UK
Commemorative crown prices from Queen Victoria through to the Platinum Jubilee.
👑
Half Crown Values UK
Sterling pre-1920, .500 silver wartime, cupronickel post-1947. Key dates and silver content.
🌹
Florin Values UK
Two-shilling silver florin 1849-1970: Godless and Gothic, key dates, silver content.
🦁
Shilling Values UK
Pre-decimal shilling 1816-1970: English and Scottish reverses, 1905 key date, authentication.
🍀
Sixpence Values UK
Lucky-sixpence wedding tradition, silver vs cupronickel, key dates, demonetised 1980.
🌿
Threepence Values UK
Both threepence types: silver 1551-1944 and the 12-sided brass thrupenny bit 1937-1967.
⛵
Halfpenny Values UK
Pre-decimal halfpenny 1672-1969: copper to bronze, Britannia and Drake's ship reverses.
🐦
Farthing Values UK
Quarter-penny farthing 1672-1956: Britannia and wren reverses, the famous 1714 Anne.
👑
Gold Sovereign Values
Price history for gold sovereigns from George III to Charles III, plus buying and selling advice.
🥇
Half Sovereign Values UK
Gold content, branch mints (S/M/P/SA), bullion premium, CGT exemption.
🪙
Guinea Coin Value UK
How much is a guinea worth today? Both the £1.05 currency phrase and the physical 1663-1813 gold coin.

Themed commemorative series

25 guides

Olympic, Beatrix Potter, Harry Potter, Paddington, Music Legends, Queen’s Beasts, Tudor Beasts, James Bond and more.

🥇
London 2012 Olympic 50p
All 29 London 2012 Olympic 50ps ranked by rarity: Wrestling, Football Offside Rule, Judo and more.
🏅
Blue Peter 50p
The rare 2009 Athletics 50p: 19,722 made, never circulated, and how to tell it from the common 2011 coin.
🔎
Royal Mint Coin Hunt Explained
The 2018-19 A-Z 10p Great British Coin Hunt and the 2026 Great British Treasure Hunt Penny Drops £5 puzzle coin.
🐇
Peter Rabbit 50p Series
All 13 Beatrix Potter 50ps from 2016-2018, with mintages and values.
🦆
Beatrix Potter 50p
Per-character value pages for the 8 supporting Beatrix Potter characters.
⚡
Harry Potter 50p Guide
Every Harry Potter 50p 2022-2024: Hogwarts, Hedwig, Dumbledore, silver-proof variants.
🚀
Star Wars 50p Value
All eight 2023-24 Star Wars 50ps: R2-D2 to the Death Star II. Sold prices by format, Royal Mint sales figures, none in circulation.
🧸
Paddington 50p Guide
All six Paddington 50ps: Station, Palace, St Paul's, Tower of London and Platinum Jubilee.
☃️
Snowman 50p Series
The Royal Mint annual Christmas 50p since 2018: every year, designer, format and realised price.
🍯
Winnie the Pooh 50p Series
8 characters 2020-2024, Winnie, Piglet, Tigger, Eeyore and more. All formats.
🎸
Music Legends £5 Series
Every Royal Mint Music Legends £5: Queen, Bowie, Iron Maiden, Lennon, Beatles.
😀
Mr Men £5 Coin Value
Royal Mint Mr Men & Little Miss 50th anniversary £5 crown series. BU £13-22, colour £18-32, silver £45-75, gold proof £1,200-1,800.
🦁
Queen's Beasts Coin Series
10-coin programme + Completer Coin, all metals (silver, gold, Piedfort, proof).
🐲
Tudor Beasts Coin Series
Queen's Beasts successor, 2022- programme, Seymour Panther, Yale of Beaufort, Lion, Royal Dragon.
🦕
Dinosauria 50p Series
Megalosaurus, Iguanodon, Hylaeosaurus, Stegosaurus and more. NHM partnership designs.
🎬
James Bond Coins UK
2020-2026 series: 50p/£2/£5, Aston Martin DB5, villains. Strongest pop-culture performer.
🪖
WWII Commemorative Coins
1994 D-Day through 2024 D-Day 80th, full timeline of Royal Mint WWII commemoratives.
🌹
WW1 Centennial Coins (2014-2018)
The Royal Mint First World War centennial programme: outbreak £2, navy £2, army £2, air force £2, armistice £2 plus 2014 Britannia 50p.
✍
Shakespeare £2 Trilogy 2016
400th anniversary of Shakespeare's death: three £2 coins (histories / comedies / tragedies). Mintages, designers, realised prices by format.
🥈
Britannia Bullion £2 Guide
The annual 1oz fine silver £2 series: live silver melt, year-by-year mintages, CGT-free status.
🪙
Best £2 Coins to Buy
The 10 most collectable £2 coins: Commonwealth Games NI, Newton, Magna Carta, Britannia bullion.
🐉
Royal Mint Lunar Series Guide
The 12-coin Chinese-zodiac cycle: Cycle 1 2014-2025, Cycle 2 from 2026. Mintages, formats and realised auction prices.
🎬
James Bond vs Music Legends
Two flagship pop-culture Royal Mint series compared: structure, secondary-market growth and format-by-format winners.
🐭
Gruffalo 50p Value
The 2019 Gruffalo and Gruffalo and Mouse 50p pair: mintages, BU pack prices and realised sales.
😀
Mr Men 50p Series
Every Mr Men and Little Miss 50p design, with mintages and values for BU, silver and gold issues.

By monarch

9 guides

Reign-by-reign coinage value guides from Queen Victoria through King Charles III.

Bullion & investment

30 guides

Gold sovereigns, Britannias, mint marks, CGT-exempt coins and tax-efficient gold/silver investing.

🪙
How to Buy Gold Sovereigns
Where to buy in the UK: Royal Mint, dealers, eBay, auctions. Authentication, premiums, scams.
⚖
Sovereigns vs Britannias
Side-by-side comparison of the two CGT-exempt UK gold coins: gold content, premiums, sizes.
🌐
Sovereign Mint Marks Guide
S/M/P/I/SA/C branch mints, premium tiers, key dates (1908 C, 1918 I, 1872 M).
👑
Victorian Sovereign Values
Three portraits (Young Head, Jubilee, Veiled Head), shield-back vs St George, branch mints.
🐉
Pistrucci St George Sovereign
200+ years of the iconic St George reverse design, 1817 spear vs 1820 sword.
🔬
How to Spot a Fake Sovereign
Six tests: weight, diameter, magnet, edge, specific gravity, sound. Plated vs cast vs tungsten-core fakes.
📏
Sovereign Weight & Specifications
7.988g, 22.05mm, 22-carat, specs unchanged since 1817. Quarter through quintuple.
🏰
1989 500th Anniversary Sovereign
Tudor reverse, mintage 22,000 proof, strongest-performing modern UK sovereign.
💎
Quintuple Sovereign £5
1.177 oz pure 22-carat gold in a 36mm coin, the largest standard UK sovereign.
🪙
Krugerrand Value UK
What a 1 oz, 1/2, 1/4 and 1/10 oz Krugerrand is worth at today's gold price, plus UK VAT and CGT.
⚖
Sovereign vs Krugerrand
CGT-exempt UK sovereigns vs international-liquid Krugerrands, the UK-investor decision matrix.
⚜
George V Sovereign Values
Mackennal portrait, all branch mints (S/M/P/I/SA/C), 1918 Bombay only year, 1925 London restrike controversy.
👑
Edward VII Sovereign Values
De Saulles portrait, 1902 matt proof set, 1908 C Ottawa proof (mintage 636, rarest modern UK sovereign).
🤴
Charles III Sovereign Values
Martin Jennings portrait, 2023 Royal Arms reverse (one-year-only), 2024+ Pistrucci return, Coronation Piedfort.
👸
Elizabeth II Sovereign Values
Five portraits 1953-2022, 1989 anniversary, Diamond Jubilee, year-of-birth sovereigns.
📈
Is a Sovereign a Good Investment?
Historical performance vs FTSE, portfolio allocation guidance, crisis-hedge analysis. The decision framework.
🏛
1817 First Modern Sovereign
Pistrucci's spear-version St George, the Great Recoinage 1816 origin, mintage 3.2M.
🛡
Shield-Back Sovereign
1825-1874 royal-arms reverse, George IV / William IV / Victoria Young Head, 1860/59 mule rarity.
🎁
Sovereign as Gift UK
Wedding, christening, milestone-birthday gifting tradition. IHT, year-of-birth sovereigns, presentation packaging.
💷
CGT-Exempt Coins UK
Which UK coins are exempt from Capital Gains Tax. Sovereigns, Britannias, legal-tender commemoratives.
🥈
Junk Silver UK Coins
Pre-1947 British silver by weight: live melt calculator, premium over melt, where to buy bulk.
⚖
Pre-1947 vs Post-1947 Silver
92.5% sterling vs 50% wartime alloy vs cupronickel. The value gap and how to identify.
📈
Best UK Coin Investments 2026
Eight UK coin investments worth holding: realised prices, where to buy, tax treatment.
🥇
Best 50p Coins to Invest In (2026)
Investment-ranking lens for 50ps: top 10 most investable, 50ps to avoid, 5- and 10-year price track record.
📈
Best Royal Mint Coins 2026
Investment-lens picks for the 2026 Royal Mint calendar: Tudor Beasts, sovereigns, Lunar Year of the Horse and more.
🎁
Coin Gifts UK
Best coin gifts for collectors and beginners: Royal Mint sets, themed 50ps, sovereigns, year-of-birth.
🛡
Britannia Coin Values UK
Britannia silver and gold bullion coins from 1987 onward: weights, finenesses and premiums over spot.
📅
Sovereign Value by Year
Full year-by-year sovereign chart with mintage and realised prices for every date from 1817.
🧾
VAT on Silver & Gold Coins
Why investment gold is VAT-free and silver costs 20% more, the margin scheme, post-Brexit imports and auctions.
🔬
Counterfeit Sovereign Detection
Seven tests for a fake gold sovereign: weight, diameter, magnet, edge, specific gravity, ultrasonic and professional authentication.

Errors & authentication

6 guides

Mules, edge inscription faults, undated coins and how to spot a counterfeit before you buy.

Grading & care

11 guides

Sheldon scale, PCGS / NGC / CGS comparison, slabbing decisions, cleaning warnings, storage methods.

Selling, valuing & insurance

11 guides

Where to sell at every value bracket, auction-house commissions, insurance documentation, inherited collections.

Reference & glossary

29 guides

Pre-decimal, terminology glossary, what makes a coin rare, decade-by-decade browse, upcoming Royal Mint releases.

📜
Pre-Decimal Coins Guide
Britain's old money: farthing to crown, 15 February 1971 decimalisation, conversion rates.
🏰
Pre-1816 British Coins Guide
Hammered + early milled coinage before the Great Recoinage of 1816. Tudor, Stuart and Georgian-pre-1816 types, mintages and realised auction prices.
🏝
Isle of Man Coins Guide
IoM Crown Dependency coinage: Christmas 50p (1980+, world's first Christmas coin), angel half-sovereigns, modern Tower Mint issues.
🏖
Channel Islands Coins Guide
Jersey, Guernsey, Alderney and Sark coinage explained. Liberation 1945 commemoratives, Pobjoy issues, legal tender status in mainland UK.
🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿
Scottish Coin Mintmarks
Pre-1707 Scottish coinage mintmarks (E Edinburgh, B Berwick, A Aberdeen) and modern Scottish-themed UK commemoratives.
📏
UK Coin Sizes and Weights
Every UK coin from 1p to £2 in mm and grams: diameter, thickness, weight and metal, plus the old large 5p, 10p and 50p.
🧪
Specific Gravity Test (Gold Coins)
How to verify a gold coin at home: kitchen scale, water, thread. Formula, tolerances, what SG does and doesn't catch.
📘
Coin Collecting Glossary
Every numismatic term: BU, UNC, FDC, proof, troy ounce, fineness, mintmark, key date.
⚖
What Makes a Coin Rare?
The 5 factors: mintage, survival, condition, demand, errors. How rarity scoring works.
🔎
Are My Old Coins Worth Anything?
Plain-English decision tree for identifying valuable UK old coins.
📅
UK Coins by Decade
Browse every UK coin by decade: 1900s through 2020s. Mintage, designer, realised prices.
📅
2026 Royal Mint Releases
Every UK coin announced for 2026: Royal Zoological Society £2, QEII centenary £5, sovereign and Britannia.
🔭
Upcoming UK Coins
Confirmed 2026 issues plus the British anniversary watchlist through 2030.
👑
Royal Mint Subscription Review
Honest review of Royal Mint subscriptions: Coin Hunter, Reserve, Premium tiers.
⚖
Westminster vs Bradford Exchange
Westminster Collection, Bradford Exchange, Pobjoy: legit but NOT the Royal Mint.
⛪
Royal Maundy Money Guide
Silver penny, twopence, threepence and fourpence given by the monarch on Maundy Thursday. Every monarch since Charles II, mintages and realised values.
📅
How to Read a Coin Date
Where the date sits on UK coins (pre-2008 obverse, post-2008 reverse), Roman numerals on crowns, what to do with worn or illegible dates.
✨
BU vs UNC vs Proof
The five non-circulated grades explained: Uncirculated, Brilliant Uncirculated, Proof, Specimen, FDC. Royal Mint terminology and how PCGS/NGC mapping works.
🪞
What Does Proof Mean (Coins)
A proof coin is a special striking, not a grade. Mirror fields, frosted devices, polished dies, the full definition with visual recognition tips.
🌸
What Does FDC Mean (Coins)
Fleur-de-Coin explained: where the term comes from, when it commands a premium, how UK auction houses use it differently from PCGS/NGC.
⚖
Trial of the Pyx
The annual ceremony that has tested UK coinage since 1282, Goldsmiths' Company assay, modern process, collector relevance.
🔨
Hammer vs Realised Price
Why MyCoinage uses realised prices not hammer prices. Buyer's premium, VAT, worked example.
🎁
BU Pack vs Proof Set
Royal Mint annual products compared: Brilliant Uncirculated pack vs Sterling Silver Proof set vs Premium Proof.
🏛
Royal Mint History
1100 years of the Royal Mint: Tower of London, Tower Hill, Llantrisant. Master of the Mint, Chief Engravers, the Royal Mint Experience.
🔔
Coin Ring Test Explained
How to authenticate silver and gold coins by sound. Includes HowTo step-by-step.
🖼
Coin Display Ideas UK
Albums, capsules, slabs, framing, bezels, lighting and humidity. UK collector-grade display options across price tiers.
⛏
Treasure Act & Detecting Finds
Which dug-up coins are treasure, the 14-day reporting rule, how rewards are valued and split, PAS recording and the Scottish rules.
🪙
British Trade Tokens
17th-century trade tokens, Conder halfpennies, evasions, 1811 Bank tokens and unofficial farthings: values and references.
✅
Verified Mintage Figures
Human-verified mintages for the most misquoted UK coins, each with its source, checked nightly against the catalogue.

Why MyCoinage price data?

Every price we publish comes from realised sales: eBay UK sold-listings scraped via eBay UK, auction-house results from Spink, Baldwin's, Noonans, and PCGS. We never publish asking prices or estimates. See our methodology.

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