In 2020 the Royal Mint released their annual coin set, which is a collection of coins that are released each year for collectors across the globe.
These annual coin sets include an array of commemorative coins minted in that year; for example, the 2019 Annual Set featured a Sherlock Holmes 50p, and the 2018 Annual Set contained a Prince George 5th Birthday £5 crown.
In 2020, however, a Team GB 50p coin was included in the set. This is important for two very specific reasons:
- The 2020 Olympic Games were cancelled due to the pandemic. This means the 2020 Team GB 50p has the incorrect date on the obverse, showing 2020 when the Olympics did not happen in that year.
- The coin itself was only available in 2020 Annual Sets, which means the number of coins is very limited.
In this article, we will look at how many 2020 Team GB 50p coins there are, what standards they are available in, and what the future looks like for the rarity and value of the coin.
Is The 2020 Team GB 50p In Circulation?
The 2020 Team GB 50p coin is only available in some of the Annual Sets released in 2020. It was not released into general circulation due to the cancellation of the Olympic Games in 2020.
The result of this is that another Olympic 50p will be released into circulation during 2021 with the correct inscription of 2021 if the games go ahead of course.
How Many 2020 Team Gb 50p Coins Are There?
Every year the Royal Mint releases a report on Commemorative Coin sales, with the most recent report being for 2018.
As the data for 2020 has not yet been released, we can look at the types of sets that were released in 2020 and whether the mintage was given or not. For those whose mintage was not given, we can then look at how many of this type of set is sold on average from the past data.
This method is not 100% accurate but will give us a rough estimate of the amount of 2020 Team GB 50p coins that were released last year.
Brilliant Uncirculated Annual Coin Set
The 2020 Team GB 50p featured in the Brilliant Uncirculated(BU) set in 2020 but unfortunately, the mintage data was not given during the sale.
The average mintage of the BU Annual Set for the past 3 years of data is 23,079. So we can assume the 2020 mintage will be somewhere near to this average.
Proof Annual Coin Set
The 2020 Annual Proof set did feature the Team GB 50p and the mintage figure was given on the listing as 7,000.
Premium Proof Annual Coin Set
The 2020 Premium Proof Annual Set also featured the 2020 Team Gb 50p, but the mintage was not given on the listing.
Over the past 3 years of data, the total sale of this set was an average of 3,184 per year.
Silver Proof Annual Coin Set
The 2020 Team GB 50p was in the 2020 Silver Proof Set but the mintage was not disclosed on the listing.
The average sales for this set over the last three years of data are 529 for year.
Silver Proof Piedfort Annual Coin Set
The 2020 Silver Proof Piedfort set had a mintage of 300 and features the 2020 Team GB coin.
Gold Proof Annual Coin Set
The 2020 Gold Proof Set mintage was just 75, costing £7,555.00 on release!
Summary
To make all of this data easier to understand, we’ve compiled it into a table.
| Finish | Mintage | Confirmed/Estimated |
| Brilliant Uncirculated | 23,079 | Estimated |
| Proof | 7,000 | Confirmed |
| Premium Proof | 3,184 | Estimated |
| Silver Proof | 529 | Estimated |
| Silver Proof Piedfort | 300 | Confirmed |
| Gold Proof | 75 | Confirmed |
| Total | 34,167 | Estimated |
Design of the 2020 Team GB 50p Coin
The design of the 2020 Team GB 50p was created by David Knapton and features an array of sports equipment relating to the sports in the Olympics, such as a pair of boxing gloves and a table tennis bat.
Towards the top left the logo of the Team GB Olympics squad is shown with the inscription ‘TEAM GB’ below as well as the iconic Olympic rings. The aim of the coin, according to the designer, was to be a coin that people can engage with.
How Collectable Are The 2020 Team Gb 50p Coins?
There’s no doubt that they are collectable. Not only is the date shown on the coin incorrect, but they were only released in annual sets which makes them quite scarce.
To put this into perspective, the Kew Garden’s 50p has a mintage of 210,000 and is the rarest 50p coin in circulation today. This coin has an average selling value of £134.70 according to past sold values on eBay.
Coins that enter circulation do tend to be more sought after in general though, which is important to take into consideration. However, the fact that it can be considered an ‘error’ coin, due to the 2020 date inscription, could outweigh this.
2020 Team GB 50p Coin Worth
A good indication of the demand for a particular coin is how much they sell for on average on eBay.
The Brilliant Uncirculated 2020 Team Gb 50p is currently selling for an average of £26.77 on eBay without postage and packaging.
Considering the entire Brilliant Uncirculated 2020 Annual Set costs £55.00 and includes a total of 13 coins, the demand for the Team GB 2020 50p is definitely very high.
The number of listings for the other versions of the coin was very low, however, probably because collectors who bought these versions are looking to hold over a longer-term.
So, while the value of the coin is by no means certain at this point, it looks very likely that it will go on to be one of the most collectable 50p coins in a couple of years.
Where Can You Buy The 2020 Team GB 50p Coin?
As of June 2021, both the 2020 Proof and Brilliant Uncirculated Annual coin sets are still in stock direct from the Royal Mint’s shop.
All other versions are sold out and as such you will need to look at other coin shops that may have bought some of the coins to resell. eBay is also a great place to quickly buy an uncirculated version due to the sheer amount of listings that are live each week, but you are going to be paying well above the odds considering that the coin is still available from the Royal Mint.
