2017 Mr Jeremy Fisher 50p
The 2017 Mr Jeremy Fisher 50p is a circulating 50p with 9.9 million made. Value band: face value. Here is how to recognize it, what makes one worth more and what to check on yours.
- Year
- 2017
- Circulation mintage
- 9,900,000
- Value band
- Face value
- Designer
- Emma Noble
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 2017 Mr Jeremy Fisher 50p worth?
9.9 million were made, so the 2017 Mr Jeremy Fisher 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 2017 Mr Jeremy Fisher 50p rare?
- No. 9.9 million were made, so circulated examples are worth face value.
- How many 2017 Mr Jeremy Fisher 50p coins were made?
- 9,900,000 were struck for circulation.
- Who designed the 2017 Mr Jeremy Fisher 50p?
- The design is credited to Emma Noble.
- What is the 2017 Mr Jeremy Fisher 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 2017 Mr Jeremy Fisher 50p still legal tender?
- Yes. Every 27.3 mm 50p, including commemoratives, is legal tender in the UK.
Why the 2017 Mr Jeremy Fisher 50p was made
Mr. Jeremy Fisher is a frog who lives in a damp little house at the edge of a pond. In The Tale of Mr. Jeremy Fisher, published in 1906, he sets out on a lily pad to catch minnows for his friends' dinner, has a dreadful day and is almost swallowed by a trout. The trout spits him out only because it dislikes the taste of his mackintosh. He limps home and serves his guests roasted grasshopper with ladybird sauce instead. One of those guests is a newt called Sir Isaac Newton.
That last detail gives this coin a neat link. The Royal Mint put the Jeremy Fisher 50p on sale to collectors in June 2017 as part of the second wave of Beatrix Potter coins. The same year it also issued a 50p honoring the real Sir Isaac Newton. Jeremy Fisher's coin had a circulation mintage of 9.9 million, about half that of the 2017 Peter Rabbit, but still a big enough number for most people to come across one eventually. Among the four 2017 characters he is the only one who is not a rabbit or a cat.
How to recognize it
The reverse shows Mr. Jeremy Fisher with his name lettered around him, based on Potter's own drawing of the frog in his coat. He is easy to recognize: no other circulating 50p in the Beatrix Potter series shows a frog, so if yours has one, you have this coin. The date reads 2017. Emma Noble of the Royal Mint adapted Potter's artwork, keeping the gentle look of the book illustrations even though the coin is only 27.3 mm across. The Queen's portrait on the other side is the one by Jody Clark. As with all the Potter coins made for circulation, the coin is plain cupronickel; the colored versions sometimes seen online have been painted by third parties.
The other side carries Jody Clark's portrait of Queen Elizabeth II, introduced in 2015 and the last of her reign.
2017 Mr Jeremy Fisher 50p by the numbers
Measured by how many were made, the 2017 Mr Jeremy Fisher 50p ranks 67th lowest of 76 circulating 50p coins with a published mintage. The next scarcer is the 2016 Peter Rabbit 50p (9.7 million); the next more common is the 2006 Victoria Cross Heroic Acts 50p (10 million).
For scale, the most common is the 1973 EEC Hands 50p with 89.8 million, about 9.1 times as many. The scarcest is the 1992 Single Market 50p with 109,000, 91 times fewer than this one.
2017 brought 4 other circulating 50p designs: the Isaac Newton (1.8 million), the Tom Kitten (9.5 million), the Peter Rabbit (19.9 million) and the Benjamin Bunny (25 million). 2 of them had a smaller run.
Within the circulating Beatrix Potter 50p coins, it ranks 11th scarcest, behind the Flopsy Bunny, Peter Rabbit and Mrs Tittlemouse and others.
What to check on your 2017 Mr Jeremy Fisher 50p
- Confirm the design. The reverse should match the Mr Jeremy Fisher described above and carry the date 2017; 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.
A mintage of 9.9 million puts Jeremy Fisher in the middle of the pack for modern 50ps: not scarce, but not as easy to find as Benjamin Bunny. Circulated coins are face value coins. Collectors building a full Beatrix Potter set often want a clean example. The frog's raised legs and coat take wear quickly, so look closely at those areas. The Royal Mint also offered the design in brilliant uncirculated packs. If you are comparing, a pack coin has smooth, unbroken luster across the field, while a coin from change shows a duller finish and fine scratches.
Mintage chart
Specifications
| Country | United Kingdom |
|---|---|
| Denomination | 50 pence |
| Issuer | Royal Mint |
| Year | 2017 |
| Circulation mintage | 9,900,000 |
| Composition | Cupronickel (75% copper, 25% nickel) |
| Weight | 8.0 g |
| Diameter | 27.3 mm |
| Shape | Seven-sided (equilateral curve heptagon) |
| Edge | Plain |
| Designer | Emma Noble |
| Portrait | Clark |
Other 2017 50p coins
| Coin | Circulation mintage | Value band |
|---|---|---|
| 2017 Benjamin Bunny 50p | 25,000,000 | Face value |
| 2017 Peter Rabbit 50p | 19,900,000 | Face value |
| 2017 Tom Kitten 50p | 9,500,000 | Face value |
| 2017 Isaac Newton 50p | 1,801,500 | Face value |
Frequently asked questions
Is the Jeremy Fisher 50p worth keeping?
It is a common coin, with 9.9 million struck for circulation, so a circulated one is a face value coin. It is still a good one to keep if you are putting together the Beatrix Potter characters, especially a clean, sharp example.
When was the Mr. Jeremy Fisher 50p released?
Collector versions went on sale in June 2017. It was one of four Beatrix Potter 50ps that year, with Peter Rabbit, Tom Kitten and Benjamin Bunny. Jeremy Fisher had the third highest mintage of the four, behind Benjamin and Peter.
Mintage figures: Fifty pence (British coin) (Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0), compiled from Royal Mint figures. How we build these pages.