Following months of speculation the highly anticipated mintage figures for the 2023 coins have now been announced by the Royal Mint.
In October 2023 the first definitive coin featuring the new King Charles III portrait was circulated: The Atlantic Salmon 50p. However, the coin proved difficult for collectors to obtain withe very few seen in general circulation and many believed that this coin could be as rare as the famous 2009 Kew Gardens 50p.
With such conjecture, the annual mintage figures release by the Royal Mint was eagerly awaited, and on 7 October 2024 they did indeed confirm that the Kew Gardens coin has now been usurped as the rarest circulated 50p coin in Britain after a 15 year reign at the top, being replaced by the 2023 Atlantic Salmon 50p.
The total number of Salmon 50p coins which have entered general circulation is 200,000 (10,000 less than Kew Gardens). This has created a furore in the coin world and even made national press headlines, as collectors scramble to secure the coin for their collection.
The announcement and rarity of the coin perhaps now makes it more valuable and sought after than the Brilliant Uncirculated version of the same design (with privy mark) despite the difference in condition.
2023 MINTAGE FIGURES FOR CIRCULATED COINS
DEFINITIVES:
Hazel Dormouse 1p | 600,000 |
Red Squirrel 2p | 0 |
Oak 5p | 32,400,000 |
Capercaillie 10p | 600,000 |
Puffin 20p | 525,000 |
Salmon 50p | 200,000 |
Bees £1 | 10,030,000 |
Flowers of the Nations £2 | 0 |
COMMEMORATIVES:
King Charles Coronation (uncrowned portrait - pictured below) | 5,000,000 |
These figures show that 2023 was a particularly rare year for coins entering circulation with only one commemorative design being circulated and low numbers across the board for the definitives, despite the introduction of the new flora and fauna designs and the first set for King Charles' reign.
This is likely to be in response to the decline in coin production in recent years due to the impact of many external factors. The Treasury announced earlier this year they had not ordered any new coins for 2024. See our blog post: KING CHARLES COINAGE UPDATE (romileycoins.com) for more information.
Generally coin production has slowed, with no £2 coins entering circulation since 2016 (a trend that continues with the new design) and interestingly, the 2023 figures are the lowest for 1p, 10p, 20p definitives since decimilsation.
On the whole, the 2023 definitive set proves to be an exciting prospect for coin collectors with numerous records being broken, brand new designs and a special one-off privy mark version, they are likely to remain some of the most sought after coins in British history and will be talked about for some time.
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Circulated £1 Bees and Atlantic Salmon 50p coins available to buy at www.romielycoins.com or secure the complete BUNC definitive set of eight coins with privy mark. 2024 BUNC definitives also available.
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