2013 Benjamin Britten 50p
The 2013 Benjamin Britten 50p is a circulating 50p with 5.3 million made. Value band: face value. Here is how to recognize it, what makes one worth more and what to check on yours.
- Year
- 2013
- Circulation mintage
- 5,300,000
- Value band
- Face value
- Designer
- Tom Phillips
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 2013 Benjamin Britten 50p worth?
5.3 million were made, so the 2013 Benjamin Britten 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 2013 Benjamin Britten 50p rare?
- No. 5.3 million were made, so circulated examples are worth face value.
- How many 2013 Benjamin Britten 50p coins were made?
- 5,300,000 were struck for circulation.
- Who designed the 2013 Benjamin Britten 50p?
- The design is credited to Tom Phillips.
- What is the 2013 Benjamin Britten 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 2013 Benjamin Britten 50p still legal tender?
- Yes. Every 27.3 mm 50p, including commemoratives, is legal tender in the UK.
Why the 2013 Benjamin Britten 50p was made
Benjamin Britten, born in Lowestoft, Suffolk, on 22 November 1913, became one of the most important British composers of the 20th century. His opera Peter Grimes, first staged in 1945, made his name internationally and later works such as the War Requiem and The Young Person's Guide to the Orchestra are still widely performed. He spent much of his life in Aldeburgh on the Suffolk coast, where he founded a music festival with the tenor Peter Pears. He died at his home there in 1976, a few months after being made a life peer.
The centenary of his birth in 2013 brought a 50p designed by Tom Phillips, who had already designed the 2005 Samuel Johnson coin and again chose lettering over a picture. In all, 5,300,000 were struck for circulation. The coin shared the year with the Christopher Ironside 50p, so 2013 produced two quite different 50ps celebrating two men born in the same year. It's one of very few British coins to honor a composer, which gives it a particular appeal for music lovers. A stave design was a fitting choice for a composer whose legacy lives on through his written scores.
How to recognize it
Britten's name is written across the lines of a musical stave on the reverse, almost as if the letters were notes on a score. There is no value on that side at all. For this coin the denomination moved to the obverse, beside Ian Rank-Broadley's portrait of the Queen, the first time a 50p had been laid out that way. The coin measures 27.3 mm and the edge is plain. If you have a 50p with a name across lines of music, this is it. It is one of the most minimal 50p designs of its time. Tom Phillips designed it, eight years after his Samuel Johnson coin.
The other side carries Ian Rank-Broadley's portrait of Queen Elizabeth II, used from 1998 to 2015.
2013 Benjamin Britten 50p by the numbers
Measured by how many were made, the 2013 Benjamin Britten 50p ranks 47th lowest of 76 circulating 50p coins with a published mintage. The next scarcer is the 1998 EU Presidency 50p (5.04 million); the next more common is the 2015 Battle of Britain 50p (5.9 million).
For scale, the most common is the 1973 EEC Hands 50p with 89.8 million, about 17 times as many. The scarcest is the 1992 Single Market 50p with 109,000, 49 times fewer than this one.
2013 brought 1 other circulating 50p design: the Christopher Ironside (7 million). The 2013 Benjamin Britten 50p was the scarcest of the year.
What to check on your 2013 Benjamin Britten 50p
- Confirm the design. The reverse should match the Benjamin Britten described above and carry the date 2013; 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 5.3 million made, Britten sits in the middle range for a modern commemorative 50p. That's enough to keep circulated examples at face value, although they are not as easy to find in change as the more common designs. Because the reverse is mostly lettering and fine lines, wear shows up quickly as breaks in the stave. Look for unbroken lines and crisp letter edges if you want an example worth keeping. Coins put aside from new have a flawless finish, while those from change are usually scratched in the open areas.
Mintage chart
Specifications
| Country | United Kingdom |
|---|---|
| Denomination | 50 pence |
| Issuer | Royal Mint |
| Year | 2013 |
| Circulation mintage | 5,300,000 |
| Composition | Cupronickel (75% copper, 25% nickel) |
| Weight | 8.0 g |
| Diameter | 27.3 mm |
| Shape | Seven-sided (equilateral curve heptagon) |
| Edge | Plain |
| Designer | Tom Phillips |
| Portrait | Rank-Broadley |
Other 2013 50p coins
| Coin | Circulation mintage | Value band |
|---|---|---|
| 2013 Christopher Ironside 50p | 7,000,000 | Face value |
Frequently asked questions
Why does the Benjamin Britten 50p have no value on the back?
The design gives the whole reverse to Britten's name and the musical stave, so the denomination was moved to the obverse beside the Queen's portrait. The Britten coin was the first 50p laid out this way.
When was Benjamin Britten born?
He was born on 22 November 1913 in Lowestoft, Suffolk. The 2013 50p marks the centenary of his birth and he is remembered for works including the opera Peter Grimes and the War Requiem.
Mintage figures: Fifty pence (British coin) (Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0), compiled from Royal Mint figures. How we build these pages.