2007 Britannia 50p Coin
The 2007 Britannia 50p is a 50p coin struck for circulation with 11.2 million made. Value band: face value. Here is how to recognize it, what makes one worth more and what to check on yours.
- Year
- 2007
- Circulation mintage
- 11,200,000
- Value band
- Face value
- Composition
- Cupronickel (75% copper, 25% nickel)
Original illustration of the coin's shape and metal. Tap to flip. Not a picture of the actual design.
Face value · Small premium · Collector premium · Significant rarity. We use bands because prices change daily.
What is a 2007 Britannia 50p worth?
11.2 million were made, so the 2007 Britannia 50p is easy to find. A circulated one is worth face value; collectors pay a little more only for uncirculated coins and coins still in their original Royal Mint pack.
What would make yours worth more:
- Uncirculated condition with no scratches
- A sets-only date or a low circulation year
- A genuine mint error
For market prices, look at recent sold results for the same coin in the same condition, not asking prices.
Quick answers
- Is the 2007 Britannia 50p rare?
- No. 11.2 million were made, so circulated examples are worth face value.
- How many 2007 50p coins were made?
- 11,200,000 were struck for circulation.
- What is the 2007 Britannia 50p made of?
- Cupronickel (75% copper, 25% nickel). It weighs 8.0 g and measures 27.3 mm, with a seven-sided (equilateral curve heptagon) shape.
- Is the 2007 Britannia 50p still legal tender?
- Yes. Every 27.3 mm 50p is legal tender in the UK.
The 2007 50p coin in context
The 2007 Britannia 50p had a circulation figure of 11,200,000, less than half the totals of the preceding years. At the time it was the lowest Britannia 50p since 1985. Part of the reason was the centenary of Scouting, marked with a commemorative 50p that year, which took some of the demand for new coins. The other part was that the small 50p was by now well established, with plenty in use. The drop is easy to see in the figures: 2006 had 24,567,000 and 2005 had 25,363,500. Fewer new coins meant fewer 2007s in change from the start.
It was also the last full year of the design. Matthew Dent's Royal Shield designs were about to replace every reverse from 1p to 50p. Britannia's final 50ps were dated 2008. Those last coins were struck in even smaller numbers. That makes 2007 the second lowest of the small Britannia 50ps and the final ordinary year of a design that had appeared on the 50p since 1969, almost four decades earlier.
How to recognize it
The coin shows Christopher Ironside's Britannia, seated with her lion, trident and olive branch and her Union Flag shield, under FIFTY PENCE with the numeral 50 below. Ian Rank-Broadley's portrait of the Queen in a tiara is on the obverse, with his initials IRB. The coin is cupronickel, 27.3 mm across and 8 g, with seven curved sides. Nothing distinguishes it from the earlier small Britannias except the date. The design had been in use for almost forty years by then, though the coin had been made smaller in 1997. The Union Flag on Britannia's shield and the lion beside her are the details that wear first, so check those to judge condition.
The other side carries Ian Rank-Broadley's portrait of Queen Elizabeth II, used from 1998 to 2015.
2007 Britannia 50p by the numbers
In mintage terms the 2007 Britannia 50p ranks 7th lowest of 34 50p dates and varieties from 1969 to 2023. The next scarcer is the 2013 Royal Shield 50p (10.3 million); the next more common is the 1970 Britannia 50p (19.5 million).
For scale, the most common is the 1997 Small Britannia 50p with 456.4 million, about 41 times as many. The scarcest is the 2023 Atlantic Salmon 50p with 200,000, 56 times fewer than this one.
Compared with the dates around it, the 2007 output was 2.2 times fewer than 2006 and 3.2 times the 2008 figure.
Over the 2000s the Mint produced 283.1 million regular 50p coins across 11 dates and varieties; the 2007 Britannia 50p accounts for 4.0% of that.
What to check on your 2007 Britannia 50p
- Confirm the date. Most dates are common, so the date and any variety decide whether a coin is worth setting aside.
- Check the size: this date is the 27.3 mm coin introduced in 1997, which weighs 8.0 g, with seven curved sides.
- Look at the surfaces under a light. Coins from sets have unbroken luster and color; change-worn coins are dull and scuffed.
- Never clean it. Rubbing or dipping strips the original color and leaves fine scratches.
A 2007 Britannia 50p is worth putting aside if you find one. Circulated examples are still close to face value, but the lower mintage gives sharp coins a small premium among collectors building a set. It pairs naturally with the scarcer 2008 Britannia. Check for wear on Britannia's knee and helmet: those high points show first. Uncirculated examples usually come from Royal Mint annual sets. A small group of 2007 and 2008 Britannias makes a neat ending to a run of the design. Store saved coins in a dry holder away from damp.
Small Britannia 50p with the Rank-Broadley portrait (1998 to 2007)
Ian Rank-Broadley's portrait replaced Maklouf's in 1998, showing the Queen in a tiara with the initials IRB beneath the bust. It became the third portrait to appear on the 50p and sits on every coin of this era. The coin itself was the small 50p introduced in September 1997: cupronickel, 27.3 mm across, 8 g and seven-sided, with Christopher Ironside's seated Britannia and FIFTY PENCE on the reverse. All of these coins are still legal tender, so they remain in everyday use.
This was also the decade when commemorative 50ps became a regular sight. The Royal Mint used the denomination to mark the NHS, public libraries, the suffragettes, the four-minute mile, Johnson's dictionary, the Victoria Cross and the centenary of Scouting. Those designs took some of the demand for new 50ps, which helps explain why the Britannia figures stay modest after 1998. Most years landed somewhere between 23 and 36 million, with 1998 and 2001 well above that and 2007 the lowest of the era.
For anyone sorting change, these are the Britannia coins most likely to turn up. Worn examples are face value. Wear shows first on Britannia's knee, her helmet and the lion's head, so those spots tell you quickly whether a coin spent years in pockets. The low 2007 date and the final Britannia dated 2008 are the ones to keep an eye on, since the old design was about to disappear. Bright coins with full luster usually come from Royal Mint annual sets rather than from the bank.
Mintage chart
Specifications
| Country | United Kingdom |
|---|---|
| Denomination | 50 pence |
| Issuer | Royal Mint |
| Year | 2007 |
| Circulation mintage | 11,200,000 |
| Composition | Cupronickel (75% copper, 25% nickel) |
| Weight | 8.0 g |
| Diameter | 27.3 mm |
| Shape | Seven-sided (equilateral curve heptagon) |
| Edge | Plain |
| Portrait | Rank-Broadley |
Frequently asked questions
Is the 2007 50p rare?
It is scarce by Britannia standards, with 11,200,000 made for circulation. That is the second lowest of the small Britannia 50ps after the 2008. Worn coins are near face value, but sharp ones draw a small premium.
Why were fewer 50ps made in 2007?
The Scouting centenary 50p took some of the demand that year and plenty of small 50ps were already in use. The Royal Mint was also preparing to replace Britannia with the Royal Shield the following year.
Mintage figures: Fifty pence (British coin) (Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0), compiled from Royal Mint figures. How we build these pages.