Worth around £1.23 according to average values in 2022 on eBay, the volleyball 50p is one of the 29 Olympic coins released to commemorate the London Olympics in 2012.
But how rare is the coin exactly, and what are the odds of coming across one in your change?
Mintage of the Volleyball 50p Coin
Based on mintage figures alone, the volleyball 50p is considered to be the 22nd rarest in the set of 29 coins. There was a total of just slightly more than two million Badminton 50 pence coins minted, 2,133,500 to be exact.
Additionally, the Volleyball 50 Olympic coin was minted in a specimen in a card version labelled 26/29. Also, a Silver Brilliant Uncirculated as 0.925 Silver was minted.
The Volleyball Coin was also minted in two sets. The London 2012 Sports Collection Collector Album set includes all 29 of the Olympic and Paralympic 50p coins. The London 2012 Silver 50p Sports Collection set includes all 29 of the coins in 0.925 silver.
Daniela Boothman, the artist of the coin design, received one unique Gold Proof FDC 0.917 coin presented to her alone.
Finding a volleyball 50p in your change
Unfortunately, the Olympic coins are highly sought after and most of them were collected during the year of the Olympics due to their popularity. Some other popular Olympic coins include the Badminton and Fencing coins.
Therefore the odds of finding one in your change are relatively low – but you can still purchase one quickly and easily online to complete your collection.
Olympic Coin Design
In addition to the standard 50p coins, several reverse designs have been minted to commemorate important events. To pay tribute to the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, the Royal Mint released 29 commemorative 50p coins in 2011. Each coin depicted a different sport.
The Volleyball coin is a special commemorative 50p, so it is the shape of the standard 50 pence 7-sided design. Like the standard 50p, and as the name implies, the face value of the coin is worth 0.50 pounds sterling. Like the standard 50p, it consists of a Cupro-nickel alloy with an 8.00g weight, a diameter of 27.3mm, and it is 1.78mm thick.
Reverse Side Design of the Volleyball 50 Pence Coin
To determine each of the Olympic coin’s reverse side designs, the Royal Mint launched a contest to choose who would be the designer of each individual 50p coin. Entrants faced some pretty touch competition with about 30,000 entries submitted.
The Volleyball 50p coin was designed to celebrate Volleyball as an Olympic sport and is part of the special commemorative 2012 London Olympic coins minted and released ahead of the worldwide event in 2011.
The coin features 3 beach volleyball players contesting for the ball over the net. Sunbursts extend out from the ball as if it is blocking the sun or almost as if the ball has become the shining sun. The decision to illustrate beach volleyball gave the artist the chance to go into great detail to show the athlete’s abdominal muscle strength.
As with all 29 Olympic 50p coins, the Olympic logo designed by Wolff Olin’s consultancy firm is seen at the top and centre of the coin’s reverse side. Centred at the bottom of the coin, and slightly curved upward at each end, are the words 50 PENCE.
About the Designer
Each of the 29 Olympic 50p coins was designed by individual designers who were the winners of the contest announced in 2009 to determine who the Royal Mint would use for each coin. The Volleyball Olympic 50p coin was designed by Daniela Boothman.
Daniela Boothman was a mother of two small children and was on maternity leave when she saw an ad about the coin design contest. She is from Leyland and was a young 25 years old.
Although she did not pursue art as a course of study in school, she had taken classes in graphic design and art at school and had done quite well. Her graphics teacher had told her not to let her talent go to waste.
But, she was working at Barclays Bank when her design was chosen out of 30,000 entries. One of the things that excited her about being chosen to design the Volleyball coin is that she would get to see her coin at work in the bank every day.
She is not an athlete herself and does not play volleyball. But, she wanted to create a design that would show movement within the 7-sided shape of the coin. She wanted to design one of the more obscure sports, and volleyball is the one that stood out to her.
Volleyball at the Olympics
Volleyball is a team sport that is played on a court inside or on the sand. A net separates the two teams who volley a ball back and forth over the net with their hands.
Each team consists of six players. They try to score points by hitting the ball onto the in-bound ground on their opponent’s court.
Volleyball became an Olympic sport at the 1964 Tokyo Summer Olympics. Beach volleyball entered the Olympic scene in Atlanta in 1996.
The Paralympic Games have a sitting version of the game.
At the London 2012 Olympics, volleyball tournaments were played from July 28 through August 12. There were four volleyball events held:
- indoor men’s volleyball with 12 teams
- indoor women’s volleyball with 12 teams
- beach volleyball for men with 24 teams
- beach volleyball for women with 24 teams
The indoor competitions were held at Earls Court Exhibition Centre in West London. The beach volleyball tournament took place at Horse Guards Parade in central London.
Brazil took the top spot in the overall medal count, winning one gold, two silvers, and a bronze. The United States team took second place winning one gold and 2 silvers. Germany and Russia tied for third with one gold medal each.
Buying or Selling a Volleyball 50p
eBay is the most common place where Volleyball 50p coins are exchanged, at an average price of £1.33.
Just make sure that you are dealing with a reputable account and that you are getting the correct coin and you should be good to go.
