2011 Olympic Volleyball 50p
The 2011 Olympic Volleyball 50p is a circulating 50p with 2.13 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
- 2,133,500
- 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 Volleyball 50p worth?
2.13 million were made, so the 2011 Olympic Volleyball 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 Volleyball 50p rare?
- No. 2.13 million were made, so circulated examples are worth face value.
- How many 2011 Olympic Volleyball 50p coins were made?
- 2,133,500 were struck for circulation.
- What is the 2011 Olympic Volleyball 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 Volleyball 50p still legal tender?
- Yes. Every 27.3 mm 50p, including commemoratives, is legal tender in the UK.
Why the 2011 Olympic Volleyball 50p was made
Volleyball was invented in 1895 by William G. Morgan, a physical education instructor in Holyoke, Massachusetts, who wanted a less punishing alternative to basketball. Indoor volleyball joined the Olympics at Tokyo in 1964 and beach volleyball followed in 1996. At London 2012 the two versions had very different homes. Indoor matches were played at Earls Court, while the beach tournament was staged on imported sand at Horse Guards Parade, right in the heart of Westminster. Sitting volleyball, its Paralympic cousin, was also played during the Paralympic Games.
The Volleyball 50p belongs to the 29 coin series the Royal Mint issued for London 2012, with a design chosen from the public competition of 2009. It went into change gradually through 2011 and 2012. Its mintage is identical to Badminton's, putting both among the more plentiful designs in the set. Volleyball is one of those coins people tend to find early, often in the first few months of checking their change, which makes it a good confidence booster for a new collector.
How to recognize it
The reverse shows three beach volleyball players leaping around the net, with lines streaming off the ball. The net cutting across the coin at an angle is the detail that gives it away, along with the airborne figures. The figures are stretched high, which gives the design a strong vertical feel. The jagged London 2012 emblem shares the reverse with the sport. On the obverse is Ian Rank-Broadley's portrait of Queen Elizabeth II and the date 2011, the date on every coin in the set. The coin measures 27.3 mm across, with the usual seven sides and plain edge of a 50p.
The other side carries Ian Rank-Broadley's portrait of Queen Elizabeth II, used from 1998 to 2015.
2011 Olympic Volleyball 50p by the numbers
Measured by how many were made, the 2011 Olympic Volleyball 50p ranks 29th lowest of 76 circulating 50p coins with a published mintage. The next scarcer is the 2011 Olympic Badminton 50p (2.13 million); the next more common is the 2011 Olympic Equestrian 50p (2.14 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, 20 times fewer than this one.
2011 brought 29 other circulating 50p designs, from the Olympic Football (1.13 million) up to the WWF (3.4 million). 20 of them had a smaller run.
Within the 2011 Olympic and Paralympic set of 29, it ranks 22nd scarcest, behind the Football, Wrestling and Judo and others.
What to check on your 2011 Olympic Volleyball 50p
- Confirm the design. The reverse should match the Olympic Volleyball 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 2,133,500 struck for circulation, Volleyball is one of the more common Olympic designs, matching Badminton exactly. With wear, it is simply a face value coin. Because it is easy to find, there's no need to keep a battered one. Look for crisp detail in the net and the players' arms, since those fine areas lose definition quickly. Alongside the coins in change, the Royal Mint sold the design in collector packs. A pack coin shows bright, unbroken luster, which sets it apart immediately from a coin that has been in circulation.
Mintage chart
Specifications
| Country | United Kingdom |
|---|---|
| Denomination | 50 pence |
| Issuer | Royal Mint |
| Year | 2011 |
| Circulation mintage | 2,133,500 |
| 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
How many Volleyball 50p coins were minted?
The Royal Mint struck 2,133,500 Volleyball 50p coins for circulation, exactly the same as Badminton. That puts it in the more plentiful half of the series, so a circulated one is generally a face value coin.
Does the Volleyball 50p show beach volleyball?
Yes. The design shows three figures playing beach volleyball at the net. Both indoor and beach volleyball were part of London 2012, but the coin was issued in 2011 and uses the beach game to stand for the sport as a whole.
Mintage figures: Fifty pence (British coin) (Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0), compiled from Royal Mint figures. How we build these pages.