2023 Atlantic Salmon 50p Coin
The 2023 Atlantic Salmon 50p is a 50p coin struck for circulation with 200,000 made. Value band: small premium. Here is how to recognize it, what makes one worth more and what to check on yours.
- Year
- 2023
- Circulation mintage
- 200,000
- 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 2023 Atlantic Salmon 50p worth?
At 200,000, the 2023 Atlantic Salmon 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 2023 Atlantic Salmon 50p rare?
- It is scarcer than most 50p coins. Collectors pay a small premium for good examples.
- How many 2023 50p coins were made?
- 200,000 were struck for circulation.
- What is the 2023 Atlantic Salmon 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 2023 Atlantic Salmon 50p still legal tender?
- Yes. Every 27.3 mm 50p is legal tender in the UK.
The 2023 50p coin in context
The 2023 Atlantic Salmon 50p is the first regular 50p of King Charles III and the scarcest regular 50p made for circulation since the coin began. Only 200,000 were struck for change. Billions of older 50ps were already in use and demand for cash had fallen, so the Royal Mint needed only a small batch to introduce the new design. The tiny run means most people have still never seen one in change.
The salmon is part of a set of eight everyday designs for the King, each showing a British animal or plant. The theme reflects his long interest in nature and conservation. The Atlantic salmon was chosen for the 50p. It spends years at sea before returning to the river where it hatched to spawn, leaping weirs and waterfalls on the way. The new design replaced Matthew Dent's Royal Shield, which had been the regular 50p since 2008, though both remain legal tender. Numbers of wild Atlantic salmon in British rivers have fallen over recent decades, which made the fish a fitting choice for a set focused on nature.
How to recognize it
The reverse shows an Atlantic salmon with a pattern of interlinked letter Cs and the value 50 PENCE, bringing a numeral back to the regular reverse. Martin Jennings's portrait of King Charles III is on the obverse, uncrowned and facing left, the opposite direction to the Queen. The coin keeps the standard small format: cupronickel, 27.3 mm across, 8 g and seven-sided. A salmon 50p is easy to recognize, since it shows no shield and no Britannia. Coins of the King and the late Queen circulate side by side, so the portrait is the quickest way to sort a handful of 50ps. Look at the direction the head faces first.
The other side carries Martin Jennings' portrait of King Charles III, first used in 2022.
2023 Atlantic Salmon 50p by the numbers
Measured by how many were made, the 2023 Atlantic Salmon 50p is the lowest of 34 50p dates and varieties from 1969 to 2023. The next more common is the 1985 Britannia 50p (682,103).
Compared with the dates around it, the 2023 output was 48 times fewer than 2022.
Over the 2020s the Mint produced 56.2 million regular 50p coins across 4 dates and varieties; the 2023 Atlantic Salmon 50p accounts for 0.4% of that.
What to check on your 2023 Atlantic Salmon 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 regular 50p to look for. With only 200,000 made for circulation, a 2023 salmon in your change carries a collector premium, especially in sharp condition. The coin also appears in Royal Mint collector sets. Check the date, since the salmon design continues on later dates. Wear shows first on the fish's scales and fins. Do not clean it. Polish marks are hard to undo and spoil a coin that collectors want to see in original condition. A coin pulled from change in good shape is a fine find.
Atlantic Salmon 50p for King Charles III (2023)
After the death of Queen Elizabeth II in September 2022, the Royal Mint replaced the Royal Shield with a new set of everyday designs for King Charles III. The set takes British wildlife and plants as its theme, in keeping with the King's long interest in nature and conservation. The 50p shows an Atlantic salmon, a fish that returns from the ocean to the river where it hatched to spawn, beside a pattern of interlinked letter Cs. The penny, the 20p and the other coins in the set each carry a different animal or plant.
Martin Jennings designed the King's portrait. It shows Charles III uncrowned and facing left, the opposite direction to the Queen, following the custom of alternating the way each new monarch faces. The coin keeps the familiar small 50p format: cupronickel, 27.3 mm across, 8 g and seven-sided. With the salmon, a numeral returns to the reverse, which reads 50 PENCE.
Billions of older 50ps were still in use when the salmon arrived and demand for cash had fallen a long way, so the first circulation run was tiny. Only 200,000 salmon 50ps dated 2023 were made for change, the lowest circulation figure of any regular 50p since the coin began in 1969. The design will take many years to become common. Until then, a salmon 50p in your change deserves a second look. Check the date first, then the condition of the fish, since its scales and fins show wear early.
Mintage chart
Specifications
| Country | United Kingdom |
|---|---|
| Denomination | 50 pence |
| Issuer | Royal Mint |
| Year | 2023 |
| Circulation mintage | 200,000 |
| Composition | Cupronickel (75% copper, 25% nickel) |
| Weight | 8.0 g |
| Diameter | 27.3 mm |
| Shape | Seven-sided (equilateral curve heptagon) |
| Edge | Plain |
| Portrait | Jennings |
Frequently asked questions
How many 2023 salmon 50ps were made?
The Royal Mint struck 200,000 Atlantic Salmon 50ps dated 2023 for circulation. That is the lowest figure for any regular 50p made for change since the coin was introduced in 1969.
Who is on the 2023 50p?
King Charles III, in a portrait by Martin Jennings. He is uncrowned and faces left. The reverse shows an Atlantic salmon, part of a new set of wildlife designs for the King.
Mintage figures: Fifty pence (British coin) (Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0), compiled from Royal Mint figures. How we build these pages.