2011 Olympic Fencing 50p
The 2011 Olympic Fencing 50p is a circulating 50p with 2.12 million made. Value band: face value. Here is how to recognize it, what makes one worth more and what to check on yours.
- Year
- 2011
- Circulation mintage
- 2,115,500
- 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 2011 Olympic Fencing 50p worth?
2.12 million were made, so the 2011 Olympic Fencing 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 or contact marks
- Original Royal Mint pack or presentation folder
- A genuine mint error, confirmed by an expert
For market prices, look at recent sold results for the same coin in the same condition, not asking prices.
Quick answers
- Is the 2011 Olympic Fencing 50p rare?
- No. 2.12 million were made, so circulated examples are worth face value.
- How many 2011 Olympic Fencing 50p coins were made?
- 2,115,500 were struck for circulation.
- What is the 2011 Olympic Fencing 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 2011 Olympic Fencing 50p still legal tender?
- Yes. Every 27.3 mm 50p, including commemoratives, is legal tender in the UK.
Why the 2011 Olympic Fencing 50p was made
Fencing grew out of centuries of swordsmanship and has been contested at every modern Olympic Games since the first one in 1896. Competitors use one of three weapons, each with its own rules. In foil, touches count only on the torso. In épée the whole body is a valid target. Sabre allows cuts as well as thrusts, with the target area above the waist. Electronic scoring has been standard for decades, with a wire running from each fencer to a box that lights up the instant a hit lands. At the top level a bout can turn on a fraction of a second.
Fencing's 50p came out of the same 2009 public design competition as the rest of the 29 coin set. The Royal Mint chose one design per sport from the entries sent in by members of the public, struck every coin with the 2011 date and fed them into circulation over 2011 and 2012. Fencing finished with one of the higher mintages, so it's a coin many people have handled without giving the design a second look. That's a pity, because it suits the shape of a coin better than most.
How to recognize it
The reverse shows two fencers in mid-bout, blades extended toward each other in the classic lunge of the sport. The pairing of two figures gives the design a strong sense of balance and movement. Masks and the long, thin blades are the details that let you spot it quickly in a handful of change. The London 2012 emblem appears on the reverse. On the obverse is Ian Rank-Broadley's portrait of Queen Elizabeth II and the date 2011, as on every coin in the series. It is a normal 50p in size and shape: seven-sided, 27.3 mm across, with a plain edge.
The other side carries Ian Rank-Broadley's portrait of Queen Elizabeth II, used from 1998 to 2015.
2011 Olympic Fencing 50p by the numbers
In mintage terms the 2011 Olympic Fencing 50p ranks 27th lowest of 76 circulating 50p coins with a published mintage. The next scarcer is the 2016 Jemima Puddle-Duck 50p (2.1 million); the next more common is the 2011 Olympic Badminton 50p (2.13 million).
For scale, the most common is the 1973 EEC Hands 50p with 89.8 million, about 42 times as many. The scarcest is the 1992 Single Market 50p with 109,000, 19 times fewer than this one.
It was released in 2011 alongside 29 other circulating 50p designs, from the Olympic Football (1.13 million) up to the WWF (3.4 million). 19 of them had a smaller run.
Within the 2011 Olympic and Paralympic set of 29, it ranks 20th scarcest, behind the Football, Wrestling and Judo and others.
What to check on your 2011 Olympic Fencing 50p
- Confirm the design. The reverse should match the Olympic Fencing described above and carry the date 2011; similar designs from other years are a common mix-up.
- Weigh it if you can: a genuine 27.3 mm 50p weighs 8.0 g. Copies are often light, slightly soft in detail or the wrong color.
- Ignore painted or colored versions sold online as special editions. Color added after the coin left the Mint does not make it a Royal Mint issue and does not add collector value.
- Look at the surfaces under a bright light. Coins straight from a pack have unbroken luster; change-worn coins show scuffs on the high points of the portrait and design.
With 2,115,500 struck for circulation, Fencing is one of the more common Olympic designs and a face value coin when circulated. It isn't one to hunt for. The fine blades are a good condition check though. On a lightly handled coin they stay sharp and continuous, while heavy wear breaks them up and flattens the figures. Collector packs from the Royal Mint included this design as well. A pack coin shows clean luster and crisp lines on the blades, so it is easy to separate from one that has spent years in purses and tills.
Mintage chart
Specifications
| Country | United Kingdom |
|---|---|
| Denomination | 50 pence |
| Issuer | Royal Mint |
| Year | 2011 |
| Circulation mintage | 2,115,500 |
| 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 |
Other 2011 50p coins
Frequently asked questions
What does the Fencing 50p show?
It shows two fencers facing each other in mid-bout with their blades extended, plus the London 2012 emblem. The obverse has Ian Rank-Broadley's portrait of Queen Elizabeth II with the date 2011, shared by all 29 Olympic designs.
How many Fencing 50p coins were minted?
The Royal Mint struck 2,115,500 Fencing 50p coins for circulation. That sits in the upper half of the Olympic series, so the coin is easy to find and generally only worth face value in circulated condition.
Mintage figures: Fifty pence (British coin) (Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0), compiled from Royal Mint figures. How we build these pages.