2017 Royal Shield 50p Coin
The 2017 Royal Shield 50p is a 50p coin struck for circulation with 1.8 million made. Value band: small premium. Here is how to recognize it, what makes one worth more and what to check on yours.
- Year
- 2017
- Circulation mintage
- 1,800,000
- Value band
- Small premium
- 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 2017 Royal Shield 50p worth?
At 1.8 million, the 2017 Royal Shield 50p has a smaller run than most 50p coins, so collectors pay a small premium for it, especially in uncirculated condition. Well circulated examples sit close to face value.
What would make yours worth more:
- Uncirculated condition with no scratches
- A sets-only date or a low circulation year
- A genuine mint error
For market prices, look at recent sold results for the same coin in the same condition, not asking prices.
Quick answers
- Is the 2017 Royal Shield 50p rare?
- It is scarcer than most 50p coins. Collectors pay a small premium for good examples.
- How many 2017 50p coins were made?
- 1,800,000 were struck for circulation.
- What is the 2017 Royal Shield 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 2017 Royal Shield 50p still legal tender?
- Yes. Every 27.3 mm 50p is legal tender in the UK.
The 2017 50p coin in context
The 2017 Royal Shield 50p has the lowest circulation figure of any regular small 50p of Queen Elizabeth II: just 1,800,000. That number is tiny beside the 122,000,000 of 2019, only two years later. The year had no regular coin in 2016 before it and none in 2018 after it, so 2017 sits on its own in a stretch of sets-only years. That makes the coin far scarcer than the dates around it.
The reason lies in the commemoratives. In 2017 the Royal Mint issued several Beatrix Potter 50ps for circulation, featuring characters such as Peter Rabbit, Tom Kitten, Benjamin Bunny and Mr Jeremy Fisher. They were hugely popular and filled much of the demand for new 50ps. Cash use was also falling and banks were returning plenty of used coins. With little need for the regular design, the Royal Mint struck only a small batch. Many people looking for Potter coins in 2017 handled a scarcer shield coin without realizing it. Only later, when collectors compared mintage figures, did the date gain its reputation.
How to recognize it
Matthew Dent's reverse shows its section of the shield from the Royal Arms with FIFTY PENCE in words. Jody Clark's portrait of the Queen is on the obverse, showing her in the George IV State Diadem with the initials JC beneath. It was the fourth portrait to appear on the 50p, introduced in 2015. Specifications match every small 50p since 1997: cupronickel, 27.3 mm and 8 g. Only the date marks out a 2017. Clark was an engraver at the Royal Mint when his portrait was chosen. The JC initials are tiny, so a simple magnifying glass helps if you want to confirm them.
The other side carries Jody Clark's portrait of Queen Elizabeth II, introduced in 2015 and the last of her reign.
2017 Royal Shield 50p by the numbers
Measured by how many were made, the 2017 Royal Shield 50p ranks 3rd lowest of 34 50p dates and varieties from 1969 to 2023. The next scarcer is the 1985 Britannia 50p (682,103); the next more common is the 2008 Britannia 50p (3.5 million).
For scale, the most common is the 1997 Small Britannia 50p with 456.4 million, about 254 times as many. The scarcest is the 2023 Atlantic Salmon 50p with 200,000, 9 times fewer than this one.
Compared with the dates around it, the 2017 output was 22 times fewer than 2015 and 68 times fewer than 2019.
Over the 2010s the Mint produced 274.8 million regular 50p coins across 11 dates and varieties; the 2017 Royal Shield 50p accounts for 0.7% of that.
What to check on your 2017 Royal Shield 50p
- Confirm the date. Most dates are common, so the date and any variety decide whether a coin is worth setting aside.
- Check the size: this date is the 27.3 mm coin introduced in 1997, which weighs 8.0 g, with seven curved sides.
- Look at the surfaces under a light. Coins from sets have unbroken luster and color; change-worn coins are dull and scuffed.
- Never clean it. Rubbing or dipping strips the original color and leaves fine scratches.
This is the Royal Shield date to look for in your change. Worn examples carry a small premium and sharp coins draw more, since the mintage is so low. Check every Clark portrait 50p for the date. Uncirculated 2017 coins also exist from Royal Mint sets. A loose 2017 shield coin from change is the one worth keeping, more so than any commemorative from the same year. Store a good one in an inert holder rather than a soft plastic flip, which can leave residue over time.
Royal Shield 50p (2008 to 2022)
Britannia's last batch of 50ps was dated 2008. Later that year Matthew Dent's Royal Shield took over, the winning entry in an open Royal Mint competition to redesign every coin from 1p to the pound. Each coin from 1p to 50p carries one section of the shield from the Royal Arms, so placing the six together rebuilds the full shield, while the pound coin shows it whole. The 50p keeps the 27.3 mm, 8 g cupronickel blank of 1997. It reads FIFTY PENCE in words, with no numeral.
Two portraits appear in this era. Ian Rank-Broadley's runs until 2015, when Jody Clark's portrait, the fifth of the reign, took over, so 2015 exists with both. Output swung wildly. Commemorative 50ps took over the circulation role in many years, from Kew Gardens and the 2011 Olympic sports designs to Beatrix Potter's characters, which left no Royal Shield 50ps made for change in 2009, 2010, 2011, 2016, 2018 or 2021. Those dates come only from collector sets.
The years that were issued vary from just 1,800,000 in 2017 to 122,000,000 in 2019. Card payments grew quickly through these years and banks returned plenty of used coins, so new orders often stayed small. Every Royal Shield 50p is legal tender. When sorting, check the date first and then the portrait: a sets-only date in your change came from a broken set, while a 2017 or 2022 is worth putting aside. Most others are face value coins.
Mintage chart
Specifications
| Country | United Kingdom |
|---|---|
| Denomination | 50 pence |
| Issuer | Royal Mint |
| Year | 2017 |
| Circulation mintage | 1,800,000 |
| Composition | Cupronickel (75% copper, 25% nickel) |
| Weight | 8.0 g |
| Diameter | 27.3 mm |
| Shape | Seven-sided (equilateral curve heptagon) |
| Edge | Plain |
| Portrait | Clark |
Frequently asked questions
How many 2017 Royal Shield 50ps were made?
The Royal Mint struck 1,800,000 for circulation. That is the lowest figure of any Royal Shield 50p, well below the next lowest years. That is why it is the date to look for.
Why were so few regular 50ps made in 2017?
Beatrix Potter commemorative 50ps took much of the demand that year and falling cash use meant banks needed fewer new coins. The Royal Mint struck only a small batch of the regular design.
Mintage figures: Fifty pence (British coin) (Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0), compiled from Royal Mint figures. How we build these pages.