2011 Olympic Modern Pentathlon 50p
The 2011 Olympic Modern Pentathlon 50p is a circulating 50p with 1.69 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
- 1,689,500
- 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 Modern Pentathlon 50p worth?
1.69 million were made, so the 2011 Olympic Modern Pentathlon 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 Modern Pentathlon 50p rare?
- No. 1.69 million were made, so circulated examples are worth face value.
- How many 2011 Olympic Modern Pentathlon 50p coins were made?
- 1,689,500 were struck for circulation.
- What is the 2011 Olympic Modern Pentathlon 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 Modern Pentathlon 50p still legal tender?
- Yes. Every 27.3 mm 50p, including commemoratives, is legal tender in the UK.
Why the 2011 Olympic Modern Pentathlon 50p was made
Modern pentathlon was devised by Pierre de Coubertin, founder of the modern Olympics. It made its debut at Stockholm in 1912. It was based on the idea of a nineteenth century cavalry officer stranded behind enemy lines who has to ride an unfamiliar horse, fight with a sword, shoot, swim and run to get home. The five disciplines are fencing, swimming, show jumping, shooting and running. Women's events were added in 2000. At London 2012 each competition was packed into a single day, moving between venues in the Olympic Park and Greenwich Park.
For Britain, the event produced a moment on the very last day of the Games, when Samantha Murray won silver in the women's competition. The coin had been in circulation long before that. Its design was chosen from the Royal Mint's 2009 public competition and released into change alongside the other 28 sports during 2011 and 2012. Modern Pentathlon's mintage sits a little below the middle of the series. Few people outside the sport knew much about it before 2012, so the coin did a fair job of introducing it to the public.
How to recognize it
With five sports to represent, this design has more to fit in than most. It brings elements of the disciplines together in a single image, so you'll want to look closely to pick them all out. A magnifier helps with the smaller details. That crowded composition is the easiest way to tell it apart from the single sport designs in the set. The reverse design is completed by the London 2012 emblem, as on every sport. The obverse carries Ian Rank-Broadley's portrait of Queen Elizabeth II with the date 2011, the date on every coin in the series. Otherwise it's a regular 50p: seven-sided, 27.3 mm in diameter, plain edge.
The other side carries Ian Rank-Broadley's portrait of Queen Elizabeth II, used from 1998 to 2015.
2011 Olympic Modern Pentathlon 50p by the numbers
In mintage terms the 2011 Olympic Modern Pentathlon 50p ranks 14th lowest of 76 circulating 50p coins with a published mintage. The next scarcer is the 2011 Olympic Handball 50p (1.68 million); the next more common is the 2018 Mrs Tittlemouse 50p (1.7 million).
For scale, the most common is the 1973 EEC Hands 50p with 89.8 million, about 53 times as many. The scarcest is the 1992 Single Market 50p with 109,000, 16 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). 9 of them had a smaller run.
Within the 2011 Olympic and Paralympic set of 29, it ranks 10th scarcest, behind the Football, Wrestling and Judo and others.
What to check on your 2011 Olympic Modern Pentathlon 50p
- Confirm the design. The reverse should match the Olympic Modern Pentathlon 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 1,689,500 struck for circulation, Modern Pentathlon sits just below the middle of the 29 Olympic designs. It is a face value coin in circulated condition and not one you'll struggle to find for long. The detailed design does lose definition quickly with wear, so a crisp example is noticeably nicer to own. The Royal Mint also sold the Olympic designs in collector packs, where the coins keep full mint luster. A coin from change will usually show small marks and softened detail by comparison.
Mintage chart
Specifications
| Country | United Kingdom |
|---|---|
| Denomination | 50 pence |
| Issuer | Royal Mint |
| Year | 2011 |
| Circulation mintage | 1,689,500 |
| 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 five sports are on the Modern Pentathlon 50p?
Modern pentathlon combines fencing, swimming, show jumping, shooting and running. The coin brings elements of these disciplines together in one design, which is why it looks busier than most of the other 28 Olympic coins.
How many Modern Pentathlon 50p coins exist?
The Royal Mint struck 1,689,500 for circulation. That puts it slightly below the middle of the Olympic series, so it is reasonably easy to find and generally a face value coin when worn.
Mintage figures: Fifty pence (British coin) (Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0), compiled from Royal Mint figures. How we build these pages.