2011 Olympic Tennis 50p
The 2011 Olympic Tennis 50p is a circulating 50p with 1.45 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
- 1,454,000
- 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 Tennis 50p worth?
1.45 million were made, so the 2011 Olympic Tennis 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 Tennis 50p rare?
- No. 1.45 million were made, so circulated examples are worth face value.
- How many 2011 Olympic Tennis 50p coins were made?
- 1,454,000 were struck for circulation.
- What is the 2011 Olympic Tennis 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 Tennis 50p still legal tender?
- Yes. Every 27.3 mm 50p, including commemoratives, is legal tender in the UK.
Why the 2011 Olympic Tennis 50p was made
Tennis was part of the early modern Olympics but dropped out after 1924. It returned as a full medal sport at Seoul in 1988 and has stayed since. For London 2012 the tournament was played on the grass courts of Wimbledon, with players allowed to wear their national colors instead of the usual all-white clothing. Andy Murray won the men's singles, beating Roger Federer in the final only four weeks after losing the Wimbledon final to him on the same court. He also took silver in the mixed doubles with Laura Robson.
The Tennis 50p was one of 29 coins the Royal Mint issued for the sports of London 2012. Like the others, the design came from the public competition held in 2009 and the coin was struck with the date 2011. It went into change during 2011 and 2012. Tennis stands out in the series for its mintage. It is the fifth lowest of the 29, sitting in a gap between the four scarcest designs and the rest. That makes it the coin many people are still missing once they've found the Football, Wrestling, Judo and Triathlon designs.
How to recognize it
The reverse centers on a tennis ball and the net, with no player in sight. It's a graphic, almost diagrammatic approach rather than a picture of the action. The ball's curved seam is the detail that tells you instantly which sport you're looking at. The London 2012 emblem also has a place on the reverse. On the obverse is Ian Rank-Broadley's portrait of Queen Elizabeth II and the date 2011, as on every design in the series. If your coin is worn, check the fine lines of the net, which soften quickly. Physically there's nothing unusual: seven sides, a 27.3 mm diameter and a plain edge.
The other side carries Ian Rank-Broadley's portrait of Queen Elizabeth II, used from 1998 to 2015.
2011 Olympic Tennis 50p by the numbers
Measured by how many were made, the 2011 Olympic Tennis 50p ranks 9th lowest of 76 circulating 50p coins with a published mintage. The next scarcer is the 2018 Peter Rabbit 50p (1.4 million); the next more common is the 2011 Olympic Goalball 50p (1.62 million).
For scale, the most common is the 1973 EEC Hands 50p with 89.8 million, about 62 times as many. The scarcest is the 1992 Single Market 50p with 109,000, 13 times fewer than this one.
2011 brought 29 other circulating 50p designs, from the Olympic Football (1.13 million) up to the WWF (3.4 million). 4 of them had a smaller run.
Within the 2011 Olympic and Paralympic set of 29, it ranks 5th scarcest, behind the Football, Wrestling and Judo and others.
What to check on your 2011 Olympic Tennis 50p
- Confirm the design. The reverse should match the Olympic Tennis 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 1,454,000 struck for circulation, Tennis has the fifth lowest mintage in the Olympic series. It's a step up in difficulty from the mid-range coins without being in the same league as the four scarcest. Circulated examples sometimes carry a small premium, especially when the detail is still sharp. Royal Mint collector packs offered the design to people who wanted a pristine coin. Coins from packs have bright, even luster and crisp lines on the net, while a coin from circulation typically shows worn lines and scuffs across the open field. Hold out for a good one.
Mintage chart
Specifications
| Country | United Kingdom |
|---|---|
| Denomination | 50 pence |
| Issuer | Royal Mint |
| Year | 2011 |
| Circulation mintage | 1,454,000 |
| 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
Is the Tennis 50p rare?
It is one of the scarcer Olympic designs. With 1,454,000 struck for circulation it has the fifth lowest mintage of the 29 coins, behind only Football, Wrestling, Judo and Triathlon. It can carry a small premium in good condition.
Where was the London 2012 tennis played?
The Olympic tennis tournament was played on the grass courts at Wimbledon, where Andy Murray won the men's singles gold. The 50p, dated 2011, went into circulation before the Games, so it shows the sport rather than the event.
Mintage figures: Fifty pence (British coin) (Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0), compiled from Royal Mint figures. How we build these pages.