2019 Gruffalo and Mouse 50p
The 2019 Gruffalo and Mouse 50p is a Royal Mint collector issue that was never released into circulation. Value band: small premium. Here is how to recognize it, what makes one worth more and what to check on yours.
- Year
- 2019
- Issued as
- Collector packs and sets only
- Value band
- Small premium
- Designer
- Magic Light Pictures
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 2019 Gruffalo and Mouse 50p worth?
This design was never released into circulation. The Royal Mint sold it in brilliant uncirculated packs and annual sets, so almost every example is a collector piece. One found in change is still legal tender at 50 pence; out of its pack it brings a small premium at most, while a coin still sealed in its original packaging is what collectors want.
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 2019 Gruffalo and Mouse 50p rare?
- It is scarcer than most 50p coins. It was never issued into circulation, so most examples are in collector packs.
- How many 2019 Gruffalo and Mouse 50p coins were made?
- None were made for circulation. The Mint sold this design only in packs and sets.
- Who designed the 2019 Gruffalo and Mouse 50p?
- The design is credited to Magic Light Pictures.
- What is the 2019 Gruffalo and Mouse 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 2019 Gruffalo and Mouse 50p still legal tender?
- Yes. Every 27.3 mm 50p, including commemoratives, is legal tender in the UK.
Why the 2019 Gruffalo and Mouse 50p was made
The second Gruffalo coin of 2019 brought in the real hero of the story. In Julia Donaldson's book, the mouse survives the deep dark wood by pure nerve: he invents a monster to frighten his predators, meets the Gruffalo for real and then tricks the creature into believing that everyone in the wood is scared of the mouse. Axel Scheffler's drawings of the pair are among the best known images in British children's books.
The Royal Mint followed its first Gruffalo 50p with this design later in the same anniversary year. Like the first, it was sold only as a brilliant uncirculated coin in a pack and was never released through banks for everyday use. The practical upshot for anyone checking a pocketful of coins is simple. A Gruffalo and Mouse 50p in change must have been taken out of its pack and spent by a buyer. It is still legal tender for 50p and can be passed on at a shop, but your odds of receiving one this way are low.
How to recognize it
The reverse shows the Gruffalo together with the mouse, the pairing at the heart of the book. As with the first coin, the design is credited to Magic Light Pictures and takes its look from the original illustrations. On the obverse, Jody Clark's portrait of the queen sits above the 2019 date. Telling the two Gruffalo coins apart takes a second: if the mouse is there, this is the later design; if the Gruffalo stands alone, it is the first. The coin is struck in cupronickel on the standard seven-sided 50p blank, weighs 8 grams and has a plain edge.
The other side carries Jody Clark's portrait of Queen Elizabeth II, introduced in 2015 and the last of her reign.
2019 Gruffalo and Mouse 50p by the numbers
No circulation mintage exists for the 2019 Gruffalo and Mouse 50p because none were released to banks. The Royal Mint's other collector-only 50p coins dated 2019 were The Gruffalo, Stephen Hawking, Peter Rabbit, 50 Years of the 50p: British Culture Set, 50 Years of the 50p: British Military Set, Wallace and Gromit and The Snowman.
For comparison, the 50p coins that did reach change in 2019 were the Paddington at the Tower (9 million), the Paddington at St Paul's (9 million) and the Sherlock Holmes (8.6 million).
What to check on your 2019 Gruffalo and Mouse 50p
- Confirm the design. The reverse should match the The Gruffalo and Mouse described above and carry the date 2019; 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.
Many buyers collected both 2019 Gruffalo coins together, so the pair is a common target for completing. Neither has a circulation mintage, which sets them apart from the commemorative 50ps found routinely in change. Unopened, this coin carries a collector premium. A loose coin that has passed through tills is usually worth face value or a small premium depending on wear, with the mouse's tiny details the first to blur. The quickest check for a pack coin is the surface: unbroken mint luster with no scratches across the open space around the figures.
Mintage chart
Specifications
| Country | United Kingdom |
|---|---|
| Denomination | 50 pence |
| Issuer | Royal Mint |
| Year | 2019 |
| Circulation mintage | None (collector issue) |
| Composition | Cupronickel (75% copper, 25% nickel) |
| Weight | 8.0 g |
| Diameter | 27.3 mm |
| Shape | Seven-sided (equilateral curve heptagon) |
| Edge | Plain |
| Designer | Magic Light Pictures |
| Portrait | Clark |
Other 2019 50p coins
| Coin | Circulation mintage | Value band |
|---|---|---|
| 2019 Paddington at the Tower 50p | 9,001,000 | Face value |
| 2019 Paddington at St Paul's 50p | 9,001,000 | Face value |
| 2019 Sherlock Holmes 50p | 8,602,000 | Face value |
| 2019 Gruffalo 50p | Collector issue | Small premium |
| 2019 Stephen Hawking 50p | Collector issue | Small premium |
| 2019 Peter Rabbit 50p | Collector issue | Small premium |
| 2019 50 Years of the 50p: British Culture Set 50p | Collector issue | Small premium |
| 2019 50 Years of the 50p: British Military Set 50p | Collector issue | Small premium |
| 2019 Wallace and Gromit 50p | Collector issue | Small premium |
| 2019 Snowman 50p | Collector issue | Small premium |
Frequently asked questions
How is the Gruffalo and Mouse 50p different from the Gruffalo 50p?
Both are dated 2019 and both were sold only in packs. The first shows the Gruffalo alone; this one adds the mouse beside him. Check the picture, since size, date and metal are the same on both coins.
Can you get the Gruffalo and Mouse 50p in change?
Only occasionally. It was never issued into circulation, so every example in a till came from an opened pack. It is legal tender at 50p, which is why a few end up spent by people who bought them.
Mintage figures: Fifty pence (British coin) (Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0), compiled from Royal Mint figures. How we build these pages.