2011 Olympic Triathlon 50p
The 2011 Olympic Triathlon 50p is a circulating 50p with 1.16 million made. Value band: small premium. Here is how to recognize it, what makes one worth more and what to check on yours.
- Year
- 2011
- Circulation mintage
- 1,163,500
- Value band
- Small premium
- 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 Triathlon 50p worth?
At 1.16 million, the 2011 Olympic Triathlon 50p has a smaller run than most 50p coins, so collectors pay a small premium for it, especially in uncirculated condition. Well circulated examples sit close to face value.
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 Triathlon 50p rare?
- It is scarcer than most 50p coins. Collectors pay a small premium for good examples.
- How many 2011 Olympic Triathlon 50p coins were made?
- 1,163,500 were struck for circulation.
- What is the 2011 Olympic Triathlon 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 Triathlon 50p still legal tender?
- Yes. Every 27.3 mm 50p, including commemoratives, is legal tender in the UK.
Why the 2011 Olympic Triathlon 50p was made
Triathlon combines three sports in one continuous race: a swim, a bike ride and a run, with the clock ticking through the changeovers between them. It developed in the 1970s and made its Olympic debut at Sydney in 2000. The Olympic distance is a 1.5 km swim, a 40 km bike ride and a 10 km run. For London 2012 the course ran through Hyde Park, with the swim in the Serpentine. Alistair Brownlee won gold and his younger brother Jonathan took bronze, despite serving a 15 second penalty during the race.
The Triathlon coin was part of the Royal Mint's 2011 series of 29 designs for London 2012. Its design came from a member of the public through the 2009 competition and it was released into circulation over 2011 and 2012. Triathlon ended up with one of the smallest mintages in the whole set. It sits fourth lowest, only a couple of thousand coins above Judo. That puts it firmly among the four designs collectors hunt hardest. Paratriathlon was not yet part of the Paralympics in 2012; it made its debut in Rio in 2016.
How to recognize it
With three disciplines to show, the design brings swimming, cycling and running together in one image, following the athlete through each stage of the race. That progression is the key to identifying it, since no other design in the set combines three sports this way. Modern Pentathlon is the only other multi-sport design, with five disciplines rather than three. Check for the London 2012 emblem on the reverse, a feature of the whole set. On the obverse is Ian Rank-Broadley's portrait of Queen Elizabeth II and the date 2011, shared by the whole series. The coin is a normal 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 Triathlon 50p by the numbers
By the numbers, the 2011 Olympic Triathlon 50p ranks 6th lowest of 76 circulating 50p coins with a published mintage. The next scarcer is the 2011 Olympic Judo 50p (1.16 million); the next more common is the 2018 Flopsy Bunny 50p (1.4 million).
For scale, the most common is the 1973 EEC Hands 50p with 89.8 million, about 77 times as many. The scarcest is the 1992 Single Market 50p with 109,000, 11 times fewer than this one.
It shared 2011 with 29 other circulating 50p designs, from the Olympic Football (1.13 million) up to the WWF (3.4 million). 3 of them had a smaller run.
Within the 2011 Olympic and Paralympic set of 29, it ranks 4th scarcest, behind the Football, Wrestling and Judo.
What to check on your 2011 Olympic Triathlon 50p
- Confirm the design. The reverse should match the Olympic Triathlon 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 1,163,500 struck for circulation, Triathlon is the fourth lowest mintage of the 29 Olympic designs. Together with Football, Wrestling and Judo, it forms the group of four at around 1.1 million that set builders need most. A circulated example often trades at a small premium, rising for coins in really good condition. Collectors could also buy the design from the Royal Mint in a pack. Pack coins show bright luster and sharp figures, while coins from change usually have worn high points and scratches. Check yours carefully before putting it away.
Mintage chart
Specifications
| Country | United Kingdom |
|---|---|
| Denomination | 50 pence |
| Issuer | Royal Mint |
| Year | 2011 |
| Circulation mintage | 1,163,500 |
| 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 Triathlon 50p?
It is one of the four scarcest Olympic 50ps. The Royal Mint struck 1,163,500 for circulation, the fourth lowest of the 29 designs. That is still over a million coins, so it isn't a great rarity, but it is keenly collected.
What is on the Triathlon 50p?
The design brings together swimming, cycling and running, the three stages of a triathlon, in one image with the London 2012 emblem. The obverse shows Ian Rank-Broadley's portrait of the Queen with the date 2011.
Mintage figures: Fifty pence (British coin) (Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0), compiled from Royal Mint figures. How we build these pages.