The 2016 Peter Rabbit 50p was the first 50p to commemorate Peter, with 2 more designs introduced in the following years, but how much is it worth today?
According to eBay, the coin is selling for an average of £1.37 not including postage. This includes only circulated versions and takes into account the most recent values in 2022.
Want to learn more about the coin, including how rare it is and what other versions exist? Keep reading this article to get all the details.
2016 Peter Rabbit Mintage
The Peter Rabbit 50p was first released alongside four other Beatrix Potter commemorative 50p coins in 2016 and is the first in a long line of coinage to be produced representing Potter’s contribution to British culture.
The coin was the first in the series to be produced by the Royal Mint and is the most common coin to be produced that year, with a mintage figure of 9.7 million.
The next most common coin to be produced in 2016 was the Mrs Tiggy Winkle 50p, with a mintage of 8.8 million but there is then a significant drop off to the other characters in the series. The Squirrel Nutkin 50p has a mintage of 5 million and only 2 million of the Jemima Puddle-Duck 50p were made.
The 2016 Peter Rabbit is not the only 50p coin to feature Beatrix Potter’s main character, nor is it the only rabbit ever to be featured on a British 50p coin – the other two being Flopsy Bunny 50p and the Benjamin Bunny 50p in 2018.
In 2017 and 2018 the Royal Mint issued two different Peter Rabbit coins in 2017 and 2018, each with its own design and mintage. The 2017 Peter Rabbit is by far the most common, with a mintage of 19.9 million but the 2018 Peter Rabbit is rare by comparison, with only 1.4 million ever made.
Is The 2016 Peter Rabbit 50p Rare?
Unfortunately, a 2016 Peter Rabbit 50p is not rare at all due to the very large mintage figure, and if you are on the lookout for a rare Peter Rabbit 50p then the 2018 version is a much better option.
Other Versions
As with pretty much every commemorative coin issued by the Royal Mint, there are other versions of the 2016 Peter Rabbit 50p including brilliant uncirculated and silver proof.
These are issued for collectors and are bought directly from the mint’s website. You can see a summary of each version in the table below:
| Specification | Mintage | Estimated Value |
| Brilliant uncirculated (total) | Around 151,000 | £10 |
| Silver Proof | 15,000 | £55 |
Interestingly the 2016 version was not issued in a gold-proof standard, unlike some of the more recent Peter Rabbit 50p coins which were.
The Design Of The 2016 Peter Rabbit 50p coin
The obverse of the coin features the 2015 coinage portrait of the Queen by Jody Clark.
The reverse features a large head, shoulders and chest portrait of Peter Rabbit, with his paws holding onto his lapels and the words ‘PETER RABBIT’ inscribed on either side of the ears, designed by Royal Mint engraver Emma Noble. For the entire Beatrix Potter series, Noble worked from the author’s original watercolours of her characters.
Potter herself was a skilled painter and the Royal Mint took great care to replicate the character and subtle complexity of the original work.
Noble took time to first pick out an illustration that was suitable for inclusion on the reverse of the coin and then ensured that when the work was reduced to the requisite size on the back of a standard 50p coin, it didn’t lose its artistic quality.
Emma Noble has hailed the 2016 Peter Rabbit as the favourite of all her Potter engravings, citing it as the most instantly recognisable illustration in her entire canon of work, and it is the first in the Potter series to be released.
Why was it made and what does it commemorate?
The coin, along with the set it was released in, celebrates the 150th anniversary of the birth of the English children’s author, artist, natural scientist and conservationist Beatrix Potter (b. 1866 – d. 1943).
Potter was born into an upper-middle class family in Brompton, London. Both of her parents, Rupert and Helen, were keen artists and encouraged her to pursue her talents.
As a child, her parents took Beatrix and her brother, William, to an estate on the River Tay where the Potter children were free to roam the Scottish countryside. This experience sparked Potter’s lifelong interest in the natural world and formed the basis for her love of animals and the countryside that shone through her novels.
From the age of 8, Potter immersed herself in the world of fairytales such as Aesop’s Fables and Edward Lear’s Book of Nonsense. This led to a love of literature that would eventually culminate in The Tale of Peter Rabbit, prompting the Royal Mint to make the mischievous bunny the first character in the Potter coinage series.
Potter’s tales were initially rejected by publishing house Frederik Warne and Co., but upon the recommendation of renowned children’s author L. Leslie Brooke, the firm agreed to publish the work.
The character of Peter Rabbit was inspired by one of Potter’s own pets, a rabbit named Peter Piper. The Peter Rabbit 50p, alongside the rest of the Beatrix Potter 50p coins, represents just how ingrained in British culture Potter’s work has become.
Where To Sell A Peter Rabbit 2016 50p?
It’s quite common to find a rare 50p in your change and go down the ‘rabbit hole’ of figuring out where to sell one.
eBay is usually the easiest option for circulated coins, whereas if you have a proof version it’s much easier to contact a reputable coin dealer for an appraisal. They can also verify whether you have a genuine version which can save headaches if you sell online.
What About Error Versions?
There are no confirmed error versions of the 2016 Peter Rabbit 50p, despite what some eBay listings would like you to believe.
The easiest way to check if there are error versions of any coin is to see whether the Royal Mint themselves have confirmed an error, otherwise, it is simply speculation. This is also a tactic used by eBay sellers to artificially inflate prices for a quick profit., as shown by the Battle of Hastings 50p drama.