The Rowing 50p sells for an average of £2.43 on eBay according to recent values in 2022.
Let’s take a deeper look into the coin and the meaning behind it to see why it is so valuable to coin collectors throughout the UK.
How Rare Is The Olympic Rowing 50p Coin?
Based on mintage figures alone, this coin that represents the Olympic sport of Rowing is considered to be the 11th rarest in the set of 29 coins. There were less than two million issued with a total of 1,717,300 minted, which is similar to some of the other Olympic coins such as the Modern Pentathlon, Handball or Taekwondo 50p coins.
Additionally, the coin was minted in:
- Specimen in Card variety on card 19/29
- Silver Brilliant Uncirculated as 0.925 Silver with a limit of 30,000
- One unique Gold Proof FDC 0.917 Gold presented to the artist
The 50p Rowing Olympic Coin was also minted in sets with unknown mintage figures including:
- London 2012 Sports Collection Collector Album
- London 2012 Silver 50p Silver Sports Collection
About The Sport Of Rowing at the Olympics
Rowing a boat involves a great deal of strength and coordination even if you’re enjoying a gentle afternoon rowing down the stream. When rowing is done at an Olympic level, it is a challenging sport. Olympic rules of rowing also involve working together with one or teams of several other rowing athletes to get to the finish line and achieve goals.
Rowing is sometimes referred to as “crew” in the United States. It is a sport where teams race using boats and oars. It is different from paddling sports since the oars are attached to the boats with oarlocks. The competitions are divided into two disciplines of sculling and sweep rowing.
The Rowing event at the London 2012 Olympics took place in Dorney Lake. The lake was a 1.4 mile long purpose-built venue intended to be used for the Olympic event. The project of building the lake was privately funded by Eton College. The venue was used for both the Olympics and the Paralympics Rowing events.
The 2012 Summer Olympic rowing events included:
- Men’s single sculls
- Men’s pair
- Men’s Double Sculls
- Men’s Lightweight Double Sculls
- Men’s Four
- Men’s Quadruple Sculls
- Men’s Lightweight Four
- Men’s Eight
- Women’s Single Sculls
- Women’s Pair
- Women’s Double Sculls
- Women’s Lightweight Double Sculls
- Women’s Quadruple Sculls
- Women’s Eight
Great Britain rowing athletes truly shined as they came out on the top of the leader board for medal count in rowing. They won 4 gold medals. New Zealand and Germany followed closely.
Reverse Design of the Rowing 50p Coin
In an effort to pay tribute to the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, the Royal Mint released 29 coins in 2011. Each coin depicted a different sport.
The Rowing coin depicts the image of two athletes on a rowing boat with long oars. It looks as if they are rowing into several words that are associated with the Olympic movement. The words take up six lines and include the words in all capital letters:
- Excellence Friendship
- Fair Play
- Respect
- Friendship
- Fair play Respect
- Excellence
At the top and centre of the coin is the Olympic logo that was designed specifically for The 2012 Summer Olympics. The logo seen at the top of the coin’s reverse was designed by Wolff Olins consultancy firm. Centred at the bottom of the coin are the words 50 PENCE.
Olympic Coin Design
The special commemorative 50p Olympic coins are all part of the 50 pence heptagon design. As the name implies, the face value of the coin is worth 0.50 pounds sterling.
In addition to the standard 50p coin designs, several reverse designs have been minted on the 50p coin to commemorate important events. The 29 Olympic coins, including the Rowing 50p, are all part of the special commemorative coin mintage.
The 7-sided 50p coin is a Cupro-nickel alloy with an 8.00g weight, a diameter of 27.3mm, and it is 1.78mm thick.
The Obverse image is that of Queen Elizabeth II designed by Ian Rank-Broadley. Surrounding her portrait are the words ELIZABETH II * D * G * REG * F * D * 2011.
The edge of the Olympic 50p coin is plain with no inscription.
About the Coin’s Designer
Each of the 29 Olympic 50p coins was designed by individual designers who entered and were the winners of a contest to determine who the Royal Mint would use for each coin. The Rowing Olympic 50p coin was designed by David Podimore.
David Podimore, sometimes referred to as Davey, saw information about the coin design competition from the London 2012 website. Since he was a graphic designer and not an Olympic athlete, he thought it may be a great way for him to be part of the event without physically competing in a sporting event.
He decided to design an image representing rowing because he likes to watch the sport. He is also a huge fan of Olympian Steve Redgrave. He hoped to express the work and passion that goes into the sport of rowing. He also wanted to leave his own imprint in the wake of the design. So, he added words related to the sport to tell a story. Adding the words allowed him to show off his expertise in graphic design by using typography.
Where You Can Buy The Coin
eBay is the place to go for circulated coins, just make sure you keep the average value in mind so that you don’t pay above the market value. It’s also important to buy from a reputable seller as well so you can be sure of what you’re getting.
Consider visiting the Royal Mint’s website for uncirculated coins.
