2011 Olympic Weightlifting 50p
The 2011 Olympic Weightlifting 50p is a circulating 50p with 1.88 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
- 1,879,500
- 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 Weightlifting 50p worth?
1.88 million were made, so the 2011 Olympic Weightlifting 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 Weightlifting 50p rare?
- No. 1.88 million were made, so circulated examples are worth face value.
- How many 2011 Olympic Weightlifting 50p coins were made?
- 1,879,500 were struck for circulation.
- What is the 2011 Olympic Weightlifting 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 Weightlifting 50p still legal tender?
- Yes. Every 27.3 mm 50p, including commemoratives, is legal tender in the UK.
Why the 2011 Olympic Weightlifting 50p was made
Weightlifting was contested at the first modern Games in 1896 and women's events were added in 2000. Today it comes down to two lifts. In the snatch, the bar goes from the floor to overhead in a single movement. In the clean and jerk, it is lifted to the shoulders first and then driven overhead. Each lifter gets three attempts at each lift. The best of each are added together for a total. Bodyweight categories keep the contest fair. The Paralympic equivalent is powerlifting, a bench press event for athletes with physical impairments.
The Weightlifting 50p is part of the Royal Mint's series of 29 designs issued for London 2012. The design came from a member of the public through the 2009 competition. Struck with the date 2011, the coins were released into change during 2011 and 2012. Weightlifting's mintage sits a little above the middle of the series, the twelfth highest of the 29. It's a coin you're likely to find before long if you keep checking your change.
How to recognize it
The reverse shows the outline of a weightlifter crouched low at the start of a lift, gripping the barbell, a pose the designer chose over the familiar overhead shot. The figure is compact and powerful, filling the coin with a sense of effort. That bar is the giveaway when you're sorting through change, since no other design in the series has anything like it. The reverse also includes the London 2012 emblem, which no ordinary 50p carries. The obverse carries Ian Rank-Broadley's portrait of Queen Elizabeth II and the date 2011, as on every coin in the set. It has the seven sides, 27.3 mm diameter and plain edge of any modern 50p.
The other side carries Ian Rank-Broadley's portrait of Queen Elizabeth II, used from 1998 to 2015.
2011 Olympic Weightlifting 50p by the numbers
In mintage terms the 2011 Olympic Weightlifting 50p ranks 24th lowest of 76 circulating 50p coins with a published mintage. The next scarcer is the 2017 Isaac Newton 50p (1.8 million); the next more common is the 2011 Olympic Cycling 50p (2.09 million).
For scale, the most common is the 1973 EEC Hands 50p with 89.8 million, about 48 times as many. The scarcest is the 1992 Single Market 50p with 109,000, 17 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). 17 of them had a smaller run.
Within the 2011 Olympic and Paralympic set of 29, it ranks 18th scarcest, behind the Football, Wrestling and Judo and others.
What to check on your 2011 Olympic Weightlifting 50p
- Confirm the design. The reverse should match the Olympic Weightlifting 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 1,879,500 struck for circulation, Weightlifting is slightly above the middle of the Olympic series. In circulated condition it is a face value coin and an easy addition to a set. The barbell and the lifter's arms are the first areas to wear, so look there when you judge condition. A collector pack version from the Royal Mint exists too. Coins from those have full, bright luster and sharp edges, while one that has been in circulation will look flatter with small marks.
Mintage chart
Specifications
| Country | United Kingdom |
|---|---|
| Denomination | 50 pence |
| Issuer | Royal Mint |
| Year | 2011 |
| Circulation mintage | 1,879,500 |
| 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
Is the Weightlifting 50p common?
Yes, fairly. The Royal Mint struck 1,879,500 for circulation, slightly above the middle of the 29 Olympic designs. A circulated Weightlifting 50p is generally a face value coin, though it's still needed for a full set.
Is the Weightlifting 50p legal tender?
It certainly is. Like all the 2011 Olympic 50p coins, it is still legal tender and can be spent. Most people who find one hang on to it because the series is so widely collected.
Mintage figures: Fifty pence (British coin) (Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0), compiled from Royal Mint figures. How we build these pages.