{ Shhhh! Secret Squirrel – image reblogged from theseniorunit2018.blogspot.com }
We are all well aware of the twenty-nine different Olympics fifty pences which were released in 2011. We also know that a few of these are pretty hard to find. Offside Explained, Judo, Triathlon and Wresting are the four rarest of the set and these all change hands for a fair bit of dosh. This is all interesting enough but at the end of the day it is old news – and is based on very well publicised mintage figures. However, today I am going to share some information about Olympic coins that you won’t be aware of……..
These are the mintage figures for the brilliant uncirculated editions of these coins which were carded and then housed inside those hangy-up bags which we all know and love (yup, the ones where the hangy-up bit always ends up coming away over time, making them look proper pants). Until now, these have never been officially released.
So here we are, some figures we were never meant to see –
Aquatics – 157,990
Archery – 140,195
Athletics – 168,498
Badminton – 124,237
Basketball – 137,157
Boccia – 126,662
Boxing – 142,151
Canoeing – 116,114
Cycling – 156,872
Equestrian – 145,122
Fencing – 130,815
Football – 188,262
Goalball – 114,334
Gymnastics – 145,895
Handball – 117,566
Hockey – 130,813
Judo – 128,442
Modern Pentathlon – 123,357
Rowing – 140,977
Sailing – 138,535
Shooting – 125,398
Table Tennis – 123,195
Taekwondo – 120,210
Tennis – 144,535
Triathlon – 146,354
Volleyball – 124,115
Weightlifting – 121,778
Wheelchair Rugby – 121,175
Wrestling – 127,279
As you can see, coins in the carded camp rank very differently when compared to their circulated counterparts. And the rarest Olympic fifty pence of all is…. Goalball! What? But this is nuts!!!! Who’d have ever thought it??? Yes, in this alternative coin universe the top four Olympics are no longer Offside Explained, Judo, Triathlon and Wresting. They have instead become –
Goalball – 114,334
Canoeing – 116,114
Handball – 117,566
Taekwondo – 120,210
Not exactly what I was expecting when I first saw this list (and I am sure that most readers will agree)! I would have thought it would be along the same lines as the figures for circulated with just an odd difference here or there.
Well, I do hope that this information has been enlightening. It has certainly been very nice to publish it and share it with the coin collecting community. Personally I see no reason why it needed to be kept hush-hush in the first place. After all, why can’t ALL mintages be disclosed to the general public? Unless there is something to be gained by holding back certain information of course……
Who knows? Wheels within wheels perhaps…..
© Article and images (except where stated) copyright Mik Smith 2019
