2019 50 Years of the 50p: British Culture Set 50p
The 2019 50 Years of the 50p: British Culture Set 50p is a Royal Mint collector issue that was never released into circulation. Value band: small premium. Here is how to recognize it, what makes one worth more and what to check on yours.
- Year
- 2019
- Issued as
- Collector packs and sets only
- Value band
- Small premium
- Designer
- Various
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 2019 50 Years of the 50p: British Culture Set 50p worth?
This design was never released into circulation. The Royal Mint sold it in brilliant uncirculated packs and annual sets, so almost every example is a collector piece. One found in change is still legal tender at 50 pence; out of its pack it brings a small premium at most, while a coin still sealed in its original packaging is what collectors want.
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 2019 50 Years of the 50p: British Culture Set 50p rare?
- It is scarcer than most 50p coins. It was never issued into circulation, so most examples are in collector packs.
- How many 2019 50 Years of the 50p: British Culture Set 50p coins were made?
- None were made for circulation. The Mint sold this design only in packs and sets.
- What is the 2019 50 Years of the 50p: British Culture Set 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 2019 50 Years of the 50p: British Culture Set 50p still legal tender?
- Yes. Every 27.3 mm 50p, including commemoratives, is legal tender in the UK.
Why the 2019 50 Years of the 50p: British Culture Set 50p was made
The 50p first appeared on 14 October 1969, more than a year before Decimal Day. It replaced the ten shilling note and shrank to its current size in 1997. To mark 50 years of the denomination in 2019, the Royal Mint reissued favorite designs in themed sets. The British Culture set gathers five coins: the original 1969 Britannia, the 2004 coin for the first sub-four-minute mile, the 2007 Scouting centenary coin, the 2009 Kew Gardens coin and the 2010 Girl Guides centenary coin.
The originals of those designs went into circulation in their own years. The 2019 versions did not: they were sold as a set of brilliant uncirculated coins and never issued to banks. So a Kew Gardens or Scouting 50p dated 2019 in your change has come out of one of these sets and been spent. It is legal tender for 50p, but such coins are rarely seen loose because the set was bought mainly by collectors who kept it together. Roger Bannister's 1954 mile and the 250th anniversary of Kew in 2009 are among the best known stories in the group.
How to recognize it
Each reverse matches its original, so the giveaway is on the other side. All five coins carry the queen's portrait used in 2019 with the 2019 date. The Britannia coin follows Christopher Ironside's 1969 design and keeps the NEW PENCE wording that was replaced by FIFTY PENCE in 1982; on the 2019 version it also carries micro-engraved mint marks. The Kew Gardens reverse shows the pagoda with a climbing vine, while the two youth movement coins show the Scouting and Girl Guides emblems. Designers vary from coin to coin, since each reverse came from a different original artist. Weight and edge are the same as any modern 50p: 8 grams with a plain edge.
The other side carries Jody Clark's portrait of Queen Elizabeth II, introduced in 2015 and the last of her reign.
2019 50 Years of the 50p: British Culture Set 50p by the numbers
No circulation mintage exists for the 2019 50 Years of the 50p: British Culture Set 50p because none were released to banks. The Royal Mint's other collector-only 50p coins dated 2019 were The Gruffalo, Stephen Hawking, Peter Rabbit, 50 Years of the 50p: British Military Set, The Gruffalo and Mouse, Wallace and Gromit and The Snowman.
For comparison, the 50p coins that did reach change in 2019 were the Paddington at the Tower (9 million), the Paddington at St Paul's (9 million) and the Sherlock Holmes (8.6 million).
What to check on your 2019 50 Years of the 50p: British Culture Set 50p
- Confirm the design. The reverse should match the 50 Years of the 50p: British Culture Set described above and carry the date 2019; 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.
The most important point concerns Kew Gardens. The 2009 original is the most famous low-mintage circulating 50p. A 2019 restrike is not the same coin, so if the queen's side says 2019, it is the set version. Kept complete in its packaging, the five-coin set carries a collector premium; one coin on its own that has been spent tends to sit near face value or a small premium. Set coins have full luster and no wear, while a coin from change shows contact marks. All five are on the current small 27.3 millimeter blank.
Mintage chart
Specifications
| Country | United Kingdom |
|---|---|
| Denomination | 50 pence |
| Issuer | Royal Mint |
| Year | 2019 |
| Circulation mintage | None (collector issue) |
| Composition | Cupronickel (75% copper, 25% nickel) |
| Weight | 8.0 g |
| Diameter | 27.3 mm |
| Shape | Seven-sided (equilateral curve heptagon) |
| Edge | Plain |
| Designer | Various |
| Portrait | Clark |
Other 2019 50p coins
| Coin | Circulation mintage | Value band |
|---|---|---|
| 2019 Paddington at the Tower 50p | 9,001,000 | Face value |
| 2019 Paddington at St Paul's 50p | 9,001,000 | Face value |
| 2019 Sherlock Holmes 50p | 8,602,000 | Face value |
| 2019 Gruffalo 50p | Collector issue | Small premium |
| 2019 Stephen Hawking 50p | Collector issue | Small premium |
| 2019 Peter Rabbit 50p | Collector issue | Small premium |
| 2019 50 Years of the 50p: British Military Set 50p | Collector issue | Small premium |
| 2019 Gruffalo and Mouse 50p | Collector issue | Small premium |
| 2019 Wallace and Gromit 50p | Collector issue | Small premium |
| 2019 Snowman 50p | Collector issue | Small premium |
Frequently asked questions
Is a 2019 Kew Gardens 50p as rare as the 2009 one?
No. The 2019 Kew Gardens coin was struck for the 50 Years of the 50p British Culture set. It was never released to banks, but it is a different coin from the famous 2009 circulation issue. Check the date on the queen's side.
Why does my Britannia 50p say NEW PENCE with a 2019 date?
It comes from the 2019 British Culture set, which recreated the original 1969 Britannia design with its NEW PENCE wording. These coins were sold in sets, not issued into circulation, so one in change was spent by a set owner.
Mintage figures: Fifty pence (British coin) (Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0), compiled from Royal Mint figures. How we build these pages.