Sherlock Holmes 50p
The Sherlock Holmes 50p coins were released in 2019 to celebrate 160 years since the birth of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, writer of the fictional detective series. It has been said that his works revolutionised the crime genre, and the popularity of Sherlock Holmes resulted in Doyle becoming one of the best-paid authors of the time. A SHERLOCK Holmes 50p coin has sold on eBay for £500 - 1,000 times what it's worth at face value. The coin features the profile of the fictional detective, who's wearing his iconic deerstalker.
Discover more about the Sherlock Holmes 50p coin
The Royal Mint issued a special Sherlock Holmes 50p in May 2019, to celebrate the 160th anniversary of author Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s birth. The first story involving the character of Sherlock Holmes was published in 1887, and since then Holmes has inspired countless films, video games, radio plays and TV series.
Detailed information about the coin 50 Pence, Elizabeth II (5th Portrait; Sherlock Holmes), United Kingdom, with pictures and collection and swap management: mintage, descriptions, metal, weight, size, value and other numismatic data. Sherlock Holmes 2019 UK 50p Uncirculated Coin. A perfect gift for fans of Sherlock Holmes and the work of Sir Arthur Ignatius Conan Doyle. The reverse design created by Stephen Raw features an instantly recognisable silhouette of Sherlock Holmes. An exciting addition to.
The BBC TV show Sherlock ran from 2010 to 2017 and was hugely popular. The drama was based on Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's detective stories and starred Benedict Cumberbatch as Sherlock Holmes and Martin Freeman as Doctor John Watson.
The commemorative 50p coins were made available in Gold proof, Silver Proof, Silver Proof Piedfort and Brilliant Uncirculated versions. Unlike many of the other collectable 50p coins, the Sherlock Holmes 50p was not entered into general circulation, so it's not likely you'll find it in your loose change.
The specification of the coins is as follows:
Sherlock Holmes 50p Brilliant Uncirculated Coin
- Metal: Cupro-Nickel
- Weight: 8g
- Diameter: 27.30mm
- Mintage: Unlimited
- Retail price: £10
The Gold Proof coin had a mintage of just 400, the Silver Proof coin had a mintage of 6,000, and the Silver Proof Piedfort coin was limited to 2,500 copies. The Royal Mint have now sold out of these special versions of the coin with just the Brilliant Uncirculated – which they describe as 'a higher quality than other coins you’ll find in your pocket' – coin still available.
The coin's design, by Stephen Raw, features a silhouette of Holmes wearing his trademark deerstalker hat and smoking a pipe. He is surrounded by the names of his famous cases – and these names can only be read by using a magnifying glass.
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So how rare is the 2019 Sherlock Holmes 50p coin?
Since the coins have not been put into circulation, the value is fairly straightforward, they are worth the retail price (as shown in the details above). If you do find one in your change you should count yourself lucky and put it aside, as the 50p coins are not intended to be used.
A new 50p coin celebrating Sherlock Holmes has entered general circulation, meaning the great detective could pop up in your change at any point from now on.
Sherlock Holmes 50p 2019
If you do find the coin, which bears the deerstalker-and-pipe enthusiast’s silhouette, it could be worth more than face value.
But since the Royal Mint is yet to confirm how scarce the coin actually is, its true value would be a mystery for even Sherlock Holmes himself.
Sherlock Holmes Coin
Read on to find out which rare 50ps are the most valuable, and how likely you are to be handed one at the till.
How much is the Sherlock Holmes 50p worth?
Earlier in May, multiple versions the Sherlock Holmes coin became available for purchase on the Royal Mint website to celebrate the 160th anniversary of author Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s birth.
The design features the deerstalker-clad detective surrounded by the titles of some of his most famous stories.
The cheapest version was a brilliant uncirculated coin in a presentation pack, which is still available for £10.
Other versions, including limited edition silver and gold proof coins, retailed at up to £795 each before they sold out.
These collector’s coins have since appeared on eBay, though they don’t always fetch a lot.
The out-of-stock silver proof version of the coin appears to have sold for around £85 – more than its £55 price from the Royal Mint. But it has also sold for close to £40, which is significantly less.
The brilliant uncirculated version sold for a maximum of £11.50 between 23 and 28 May – just £1.50 more than its retail value. This was an exception, as it most often sold for less.
The circulated version of the coin, however, does have the potential to fetch big figures. But only if there aren’t too many of them.
Is the Sherlock Holmes 50p rare enough?
The most valuable circulated 50p at the moment is the 2009 Kew Gardens coin, which goes for upwards of £100 on eBay.
It’s worth so much because of its low mintage – only 210,000 entered circulation. In contrast, the 2016 Peter Rabbit coin was minted over 9 million times.
Mintage figures for the Sherlock Holmes 50p are unlikely to be available any time soon. But if it turns out to be similarly scarce, collectors could see Kew Gardens-level prices.
According to coin collection site Change Checker, the Kew Gardens 50p was overlooked for years until official mintage figures were revealed in 2014.
At the moment there is no way of knowing whether something similar will happen with the Sherlock Holmes coin.
If you do find it in your change, though, it might not be worth selling yet. Change Checker tells us that collectors would be unlikely to pay more for a circulation-quality Sherlock Holmes 50p than they would for the £10 brilliant uncirculated version, which is still available to purchase.
Which other rare 50ps should I look out for?
The Royal Mint has already released at least four new commemorative 50ps coins and coin sets this year – one of them even commemorated other commemorative 50ps.
In March, the Mint released a Stephen Hawking 50p to celebrate the influential scientist, and a full-colour Peter Rabbit 50p – following the 2016 line of non-colour Beatrix Potter character coins.
More children’s literature was recognised when Julia Donaldson’s Gruffalo earned its own 50p in February.
The difference between these 50ps and the Sherlock Holmes 50p, however, is that none of them have entered circulation so far.
This means the only way you’ll find them in your change is if a collector accidentally spends one. For the most part, you’ll have to buy them online to add them to your collection.
There are, however, a number of rare 50ps which are in circulation that you could very well end up finding. Especially if you apply a Sherlockian level of focus.
After the Kew Gardens coin, the second-rarest 50p by mintage is 2017’s Sir Isaac Newton coin. The circulated version appears to have sold for a range of prices between £1.04 and £3.99 on eBay in the week leading up to this article.
There are also a number of 2012 London Olympic Games coins that regularly sell above face value online. Some sports are more valuable than others, with the tongue-in-cheek football coin that ‘explains’ the offside rule often selling for the most.
It’s best to take eBay listings with a pinch of salt, however. Sellers can inflate prices by setting high starting bids, and could in theory manipulate the market by bidding on their own products.
Ultimately, a rare coin is only worth as much as a collector will pay for it. If you put your rare 50p on the market, you may not end up making money.
The Which? Money Podcast spoke to several coin collectors and the Royal Mint for an episode on rare coin collecting. You can listen to it here: