2011 Olympic Canoeing 50p
The 2011 Olympic Canoeing 50p is a circulating 50p with 2.17 million made. Value band: face value. Here is how to recognize it, what makes one worth more and what to check on yours.
- Year
- 2011
- Circulation mintage
- 2,166,500
- Value band
- Face value
- 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 2011 Olympic Canoeing 50p worth?
2.17 million were made, so the 2011 Olympic Canoeing 50p is easy to find. A circulated one is worth face value; collectors pay a little more only for uncirculated coins and coins still in their original Royal Mint pack.
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 2011 Olympic Canoeing 50p rare?
- No. 2.17 million were made, so circulated examples are worth face value.
- How many 2011 Olympic Canoeing 50p coins were made?
- 2,166,500 were struck for circulation.
- What is the 2011 Olympic Canoeing 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 2011 Olympic Canoeing 50p still legal tender?
- Yes. Every 27.3 mm 50p, including commemoratives, is legal tender in the UK.
Why the 2011 Olympic Canoeing 50p was made
Canoeing at the Olympics comes in two forms. Sprint is a flat water race on a straight course. At London 2012 it was held on the rowing lake at Eton Dorney. Slalom sends paddlers down a churning white water course through a sequence of gates. For 2012 a purpose built course was created at Lee Valley in Hertfordshire. Slalom gave Britain one of its stories of the Games when Etienne Stott and Tim Baillie won the men's C2 title, finishing ahead of fellow Britons David Florence and Richard Hounslow.
The Canoeing 50p is one of 29 sports coins the Royal Mint issued for London 2012, each based on a design from the public competition held in 2009. Released into circulation in stages through 2011 and 2012, the coins turned ordinary change into a collecting challenge for millions of people. Canoeing was one of the more generously struck designs, sitting fourth from the top of the series by mintage, so it is one of the easier coins to pick up early when you start a set.
How to recognize it
The reverse shows a paddler working through rough water, the blade biting into the current while lines of spray and movement wrap around the boat. It suggests the slalom side of the sport rather than flat water sprint. The design fills the coin well, so even worn examples are easy to identify. Hold it at an angle to the light to bring out the texture of the water. The London 2012 emblem appears on the reverse too. On the obverse is Ian Rank-Broadley's portrait of Queen Elizabeth II with the date 2011, used across the whole series. It is the usual seven-sided 50p, 27.3 mm across with a plain edge.
The other side carries Ian Rank-Broadley's portrait of Queen Elizabeth II, used from 1998 to 2015.
2011 Olympic Canoeing 50p by the numbers
In mintage terms the 2011 Olympic Canoeing 50p ranks 33rd lowest of 76 circulating 50p coins with a published mintage. The next scarcer is the 2011 Olympic Boccia 50p (2.17 million); the next more common is the 2011 Olympic Aquatics 50p (2.18 million).
For scale, the most common is the 1973 EEC Hands 50p with 89.8 million, about 41 times as many. The scarcest is the 1992 Single Market 50p with 109,000, 20 times fewer than this one.
It was released in 2011 alongside 29 other circulating 50p designs, from the Olympic Football (1.13 million) up to the WWF (3.4 million). 25 of them had a smaller run.
Within the 2011 Olympic and Paralympic set of 29, it ranks 26th scarcest, behind the Football, Wrestling and Judo and others.
What to check on your 2011 Olympic Canoeing 50p
- Confirm the design. The reverse should match the Olympic Canoeing described above and carry the date 2011; 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.
With 2,166,500 struck for circulation, Canoeing has the fourth highest mintage of the 29 designs, only 500 more than Boccia. A worn one is worth face value. Because there are plenty around, there's no reason to settle for a battered one. Look for an example where the water lines are still crisp and the field is free of heavy scratches. The Royal Mint sold the Olympic designs in collector packs too. Those coins have full mint luster. A coin that has spent years in change will have lost that bright surface and picked up small knocks.
Mintage chart
Specifications
| Country | United Kingdom |
|---|---|
| Denomination | 50 pence |
| Issuer | Royal Mint |
| Year | 2011 |
| Circulation mintage | 2,166,500 |
| Composition | Cupronickel (75% copper, 25% nickel) |
| Weight | 8.0 g |
| Diameter | 27.3 mm |
| Shape | Seven-sided (equilateral curve heptagon) |
| Edge | Plain |
| Portrait | Rank-Broadley |
Other 2011 50p coins
Frequently asked questions
How rare is the Canoeing 50p?
It isn't rare. The Royal Mint struck 2,166,500 for circulation, the fourth highest figure in the Olympic series. A circulated Canoeing 50p is a face value coin, though it is still needed to complete the set of 29.
Is the Canoeing 50p still legal tender?
Yes. All the 2011 Olympic 50p coins remain legal tender and can be spent like any other 50p. Most people who find one keep it for a set, since it is a well known commemorative design.
Mintage figures: Fifty pence (British coin) (Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0), compiled from Royal Mint figures. How we build these pages.