2011 Olympic Gymnastics 50p
The 2011 Olympic Gymnastics 50p is a circulating 50p with 1.72 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
- 1,720,813
- 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 Gymnastics 50p worth?
1.72 million were made, so the 2011 Olympic Gymnastics 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 Gymnastics 50p rare?
- No. 1.72 million were made, so circulated examples are worth face value.
- How many 2011 Olympic Gymnastics 50p coins were made?
- 1,720,813 were struck for circulation.
- What is the 2011 Olympic Gymnastics 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 Gymnastics 50p still legal tender?
- Yes. Every 27.3 mm 50p, including commemoratives, is legal tender in the UK.
Why the 2011 Olympic Gymnastics 50p was made
Gymnastics at the Olympics covers three disciplines: artistic, rhythmic and trampoline. Artistic gymnastics has been on the program since the first modern Games in 1896, while rhythmic arrived in 1984 and trampoline in 2000. London 2012 held artistic gymnastics and trampoline at North Greenwich. It proved a breakthrough for British gymnasts. The men's team won bronze, the country's first Olympic team medal in the sport for a hundred years. Louis Smith took silver on the pommel horse with Max Whitlock winning bronze on the same apparatus. Beth Tweddle added bronze on the uneven bars. Whitlock went on to become one of Britain's most successful gymnasts.
The Gymnastics 50p belongs to the Royal Mint's 29 coin series for London 2012, with a design chosen from the public competition held in 2009. Like the rest it carries the 2011 date and went into change over 2011 and 2012. Its circulation mintage has a quirk that number fans enjoy. At 1,720,813 it is the only figure in the entire series not rounded to the hundred, which makes it easy to remember once you've seen it.
How to recognize it
The reverse shows a rhythmic gymnast in midair, with a long ribbon trailing in a graceful line that sweeps across the coin. It is one of the more elegant designs in the set, relying on a single figure and plenty of open space. That open field also shows scratches clearly, so it is a good place to judge condition. Hold it at an angle to the light and the figure's outline shows clearly. You'll also see the London 2012 emblem worked into the reverse. On the obverse is Ian Rank-Broadley's portrait of Queen Elizabeth II and the date 2011, which every design in the series shares. It is a standard 50p: seven-sided, 27.3 mm, with a plain edge.
The other side carries Ian Rank-Broadley's portrait of Queen Elizabeth II, used from 1998 to 2015.
2011 Olympic Gymnastics 50p by the numbers
In mintage terms the 2011 Olympic Gymnastics 50p ranks 17th lowest of 76 circulating 50p coins with a published mintage. The next scarcer is the 2011 Olympic Rowing 50p (1.72 million); the next more common is the 2011 Olympic Table Tennis 50p (1.74 million).
For scale, the most common is the 1973 EEC Hands 50p with 89.8 million, about 52 times as many. The scarcest is the 1992 Single Market 50p with 109,000, 16 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). 11 of them had a smaller run.
Within the 2011 Olympic and Paralympic set of 29, it ranks 12th scarcest, behind the Football, Wrestling and Judo and others.
What to check on your 2011 Olympic Gymnastics 50p
- Confirm the design. The reverse should match the Olympic Gymnastics 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 1,720,813 struck for circulation, Gymnastics sits a little below the middle of the Olympic series. It is a face value coin in circulated condition and a reasonably easy find. Because the design leaves so much smooth field, wear and bag marks are obvious here, so a really clean example stands out. This design was also sold by the Royal Mint in collector packs. Pack coins keep their bright, satin luster from the mint, while coins from change look dull, with small nicks across the background. Take your time choosing one.
Mintage chart
Specifications
| Country | United Kingdom |
|---|---|
| Denomination | 50 pence |
| Issuer | Royal Mint |
| Year | 2011 |
| Circulation mintage | 1,720,813 |
| 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 many Gymnastics 50p coins were made?
The Royal Mint struck 1,720,813 Gymnastics 50p coins for circulation. It is the only mintage in the Olympic series not rounded to the nearest hundred. It sits slightly below the middle of the 29 designs.
Is the Gymnastics 50p valuable?
In circulated condition it is a face value coin, since well over 1.7 million were made. It is worth keeping for a set. A coin with a clean, unmarked field is far more appealing to collectors than a worn one.
Mintage figures: Fifty pence (British coin) (Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0), compiled from Royal Mint figures. How we build these pages.