The Wheelchair Rugby 50p is one of only 5 Olympic 50p coins that represent a Paralympic sport, but how much is it worth today?
According to eBay in 2022, you can expect to sell a Wheelchair Rugby 50p for £1.65.
Let’s see what makes the coin worth over 3 times face value to collectors.
Mintage of the Wheelchair Rugby 50p Coin
Representing the Paralympic sport of Wheelchair Rugby, this coin is considered to be the 16th rarest in the set of 29 coins based on mintage figures alone. There was a total mintage of 1,765,500, which is comparable to some of the other Olympic 50p coins such as the Table Tennis, Basketball and Sailing coins.
Like the other Olympic and Paralympic 50p coins, this coin was also minted in:
- A Specimen in Card variety labelled 28/29
- Silver Brilliant Uncirculated as 0.925 Silver
One unique Gold Proof FDC 0.917 Gold presented to the artist.
The 50p Wheelchair Rugby Coin was also minted in sets including:
- London 2012 Sports Collection Collector Album
- London 2012 Silver 50p Silver Sports Collection
Both sets included all 29 Olympic and Paralympic 50p coins. The silver set was minted in 0.925 Silver.
Wheelchair Rugby Coin Reverse Design
To pay tribute to and to celebrate the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, the Royal Mint released 29 coins in 2011. Each coin depicted a different sport.
This coin features a wheelchair rugby player with one hand on the wheel and a ball on the athlete’s lap. Only the bottom portion of the athlete’s face can be seen, but the design clearly demonstrates the intense muscle involvement needed to succeed in the sport.
Behind the athlete in the wheelchair are several horizontal lines giving texture to the image and making the features stand out all the more so that what is noticed is the determination on the athlete’s face and the raw, organic feel of the sport.
At the top and center of the coin is the logo that represents the 2012 Paralympics. The logo was designed by the same consultancy firm that designed the London Olympic logo, but it differs from the Olympic logo design in that each number in 2012 features separate components. The original design is colourful, but on the coin these colours are not seen.
Inside Number 2, the word “london” in lowercase letters is seen. Above are diagonal stripes coming down from the top.
Instead of the Olympic rings, the zero in 2012 contains swooshes from the Paralympic version of the five rings. This emblem is called the Paralympic “agitos”.
The Number 1 contains a triangular shape toward the top.
The final Number 2 in 2012 features the words “Paralympic Games”.
Centred at the bottom of the coin and slightly curved upward on both ends are the words 50 PENCE. Unlike most of the other 29 coins in the series, the words are engraved into the coin instead of raised.
Information About the Designer
The Wheelchair Rugby Olympic 50p coin was designed by Natasha Ratcliffe. She was also chosen to design the Handball coin.
She is one of less than ten women chosen but is also one of just a few selected to design more than one coin.
Natasha Ratcliffe is an award-winning illustrator and sculptor from Falmouth. She entered the competition to become the next coin designer of these special commemorative coins because she loves coins and medals and saw it as an amazing opportunity. She never dreamed she would be selected at all let alone for two coins to design.
She chose to design a wheelchair rugby image because when she started looking through the options of sports to represent, she came across pictures of the sport. She thought it looked like it involved a lot of energy. She also felt like it was real, very raw with wheelchairs crashing into each other, athletes falling out of them, dented wheel covers, determination seen on their faces, and hands strapped. She really liked the idea of trying to recreate that onto a coin.
Other than the Olympic and Paralympic coins, she also designed a snowman coin.
She is a member of the Council of the British Art Medal Society.
About The Wheelchair Rugby Sport
Wheelchair Rugby has elements of wheelchair basketball, ice hockey, handball, and rugby combined into one sport. The game is played using a manual wheelchair that meets specific requirements such as a front bumper, wings in front of the wheels to make it more difficult to stop or hold, and spoke protectors to prevent damaging the wheels. They all must also have an anti-tip device in the back of the chair. Players score by carrying the ball as they roll across a goal line.
The sport was presented as a demonstration sport at the 1996 Summer Paralympics in Atlanta and officially became part of the Paralympics in 2000 at the Australian Games.
Wheelchair rugby was originally known as murderball or quad rugby. It is a team sport for athletes who have a disability. All players must have disabilities that include at least some loss of function in at least three limbs or who have had multiple amputations. Most who compete in the sport suffer from spinal cord injuries.
The sport is played inside on a hardwood court. Making physical contact with the wheelchairs is a major part of the game and adds to the excitement.
At the 2012 London Paralympics, there was one wheelchair rugby event featured. A total of 8 teams competed with men and women competing together. However, the vast majority of the athletes competing were men.
The event took place in the Basketball Arena with 96 competitors.
Australia won the event followed by Canada who took second place. The United States came in third.
Buying or Selling The Wheelchair Rugby 50p
eBay is a great option if you want to either buy or sell a Wheelchair Rugby 50p quickly, but make sure you do business with a reputable account to ensure you don’t get scammed.
It’s also worth looking out for the delivery charge, as this is where some people can end up spending more than they bargained for.
