Robin 10p (Letter R)
The Robin 10p (Letter R) is a circulating A to Z 10p with 284,000 made. Value band: small premium. Here is how to recognize it, what makes one worth more and what to check on yours.
- Year
- 2018
- Circulation mintage
- 284,000
- Value band
- Small premium
- Composition
- Nickel-plated steel
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 Robin 10p (Letter R) worth?
The A to Z 10p coins were made in small runs for circulation (220,000 dated 2018 and 64,000 dated 2019 for this letter). They were made to be collected. A circulated Robin 10p brings a small premium to collectors filling a set, more for the scarcer 2019 date and more again in uncirculated condition.
What would make yours worth more:
- The scarcer 2019 date
- Uncirculated condition
- An original collector card or pack
For market prices, look at recent sold results for the same coin in the same condition, not asking prices.
Quick answers
- Is the Robin 10p (Letter R) rare?
- It is scarcer than most A to Z 10p coins. Collectors pay a small premium for good examples.
- How many Robin 10p (Letter R) coins were made?
- 284,000 were struck for circulation.
- What is the Robin 10p (Letter R) made of?
- Nickel-plated steel. It weighs 6.5 g and measures 24.5 mm.
- Is the Robin 10p (Letter R) still legal tender?
- Yes. Every A to Z 10p is legal tender in the UK at face value.
Why the Robin 10p (Letter R) was made
The robin, with its orange-red breast and bright eyes, is one of the most familiar garden birds in Britain. Gardeners know it as the bird that follows a spade waiting for worms to turn up. Robins are fiercely territorial. Both males and females sing through the winter to defend their patch, so their song is often one of the few you hear on a frosty morning. In 2015 the robin won a nationwide public vote to name Britain's national bird, comfortably ahead of every rival.
Its link with Christmas goes back to Victorian times, when postmen wore red uniforms and were nicknamed robins. Christmas cards began showing robins delivering letters. The bird has decorated cards, wrapping paper and cakes ever since. The Royal Mint chose the robin for the letter R in its 2018 A to Z 10p series, the only bird in the alphabet. The robin coin has its own special place in the hunt. When the series was reissued in 2019, R was struck in noticeably smaller numbers than most letters, making the 2019 robin one of the harder coins to find in change.
How to recognize it
A robin appears beside the letter R, its round body and alert pose making it easy to pick out. The physical specification is the same as every other 10p: nickel-plated steel, 24.5 mm across, 6.5 g, with a milled edge. The obverse shows Jody Clark's portrait of Queen Elizabeth II and the date. That date is worth checking closely on this letter more than most. The 2019 robin had a much smaller mintage than the majority of coins that year, so a 2019 date turns an ordinary find into a good one. The reverse design is unchanged between the two years.
The other side carries Jody Clark's portrait of Queen Elizabeth II, introduced in 2015 and the last of her reign.
Robin 10p (Letter R) by the numbers
Measured by how many were made, the Robin 10p (Letter R) ranks 4th lowest of 26 circulating A to Z 10p coins with a published mintage. The next scarcer is the Zebra Crossing 10p (Letter Z) (283,000); the next more common is the Queuing 10p (Letter Q) (303,000).
It was the only circulating commemorative A to Z 10p dated 2018.
Of the 284,000 Robin 10p coins, 220,000 are dated 2018 and 64,000 are dated 2019. About 3.4 coins were dated 2018 for every one dated 2019, which makes 2019 the date to look for. This letter is also one of the five whose 2019 run was cut below 84,000.
What to check on your Robin 10p (Letter R)
- Confirm the letter and picture: R for Robin, with the date 2018 or 2019.
- Check the date. The 2019 coins had much smaller runs, so the same letter is scarcer with a 2019 date.
- Look at the surfaces under a light: coins from collector packs have unbroken luster, while change-worn coins show scuffs on the letter and design.
- Keep sets in order in a holder rather than loose; scratches on the large flat letter are easy to see.
The robin had a 2018 mintage of 220,000 but only 64,000 in 2019, twenty thousand fewer than most letters that year. Only W, Y and Z have lower 2019 figures. That puts the 2019 robin among the scarcest coins in the whole series and it is often one of the last spaces people fill on their collector map. Robin designs are also popular around Christmas, which keeps demand steady. A clean 2019 robin can attract a collector premium, while a 2018 coin in average condition is still mainly a face value find.
Mintage chart
Specifications
| Country | United Kingdom |
|---|---|
| Denomination | 10 pence |
| Issuer | Royal Mint |
| Year | 2018 |
| Circulation mintage | 284,000 |
| Composition | Nickel-plated steel |
| Weight | 6.5 g |
| Diameter | 24.5 mm |
| Shape | Round |
| Edge | Milled |
| Portrait | Clark |
Other 2018 A to Z 10p coins
Frequently asked questions
Is the 2019 Robin 10p rare?
By the standards of the series, yes. Only 64,000 were made with the 2019 date, compared with 84,000 for most letters that year and 220,000 for the 2018 robin. Only W, Y and Z have lower 2019 mintages.
Why is the robin on the R 10p?
The robin is one of Britain's best loved birds and won a 2015 public vote to become the national bird. Its long link with Christmas cards made it a natural choice for R in the Royal Mint's 2018 series.
Mintage figures: Ten pence (British coin) (Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0), compiled from Royal Mint figures. How we build these pages.