Kew – 2009 vs 2019 SMACKDOWN!

{ ‘You’re going DOWN! (in price we hope) – image reblogged from whatculture.com }

 

Right since its release in 2009, Kew Gardens has been the king of coins.  Sure, we all know there are far rarer ones out there, but there is just something special about the vine entangled picture on this fifty pence.

Perhaps it is purely because there has always been a slim possibility of finding one in your change.  After all, you will have virtually zilch chance of coming across a 2009 Blue Peter as they were only issued in cards and the same is true of a 2011 ‘faceless’ swimmer.

In 2019 there was an sharp and audible intake of breath when The Royal Mint decided to re-release this coin.  Many expected the value of the original to drop in a pretty big way.  Besides, disregarding this part of things entirely, it felt rather like sacrilege to reissue this much revered coin.  ‘You can’t do that!’, we all thought.  But they could.  They could also hand pick some of the other ‘most loved fifty pences of years gone by’ and do the same with these.  Just who selected what are arguably some of the weakest designs we have had has never been confirmed…… lol.

 

‘You can’t do that!’, we all thought.  But they could.

 

So….. suddenly we found ourselves living in a parallel universe where TWO types of Kew existed (I mean proper ones and not crappy ‘spot from half a mile away’ fakes).  Great!  Thank you Royal Mint!!!  So what exactly would this mean in years to come?  Well……… here we are now in 2022 and it is now time to assess this strange and uncomfortable situation……

 

{ 2009 on Right, 2019 on Left – image by Mik }

 

Over the first year or so after the release of the 2019 Kew, it kind of felt like this would be the poor man’s version.  It was a space filler for those who were unprepared to pay the better part of £200 for a coin or those who wanted to but simply could not afford it.  Things stayed like this for a while.  In the meantime, the street value of an original Kew only appeared to dip very slightly and then it began creeping back upward again.

For eighteen months or more, a 2019 could be found on eBay for £30 tops.  If you were lucky you could even pick one up for a tenner less than that.  However, things were due to change.  For some unknown reason the value began to rise and it is now not at all uncommon to see the remixed version on sale at £60-£80.  Hmmm.  Not quite so ‘poor man’s version’ anymore.  In fact, it is virtually half the value of its forerunner :/

Course, you may get one a little cheaper if you are to buy a ‘Fifty Years of the 50p’ set, take out the Kew and flog the pants ones on eBay.  But the whole exercise is still going to cost a fair bit more than it would have done in the first year or so of its release.

It is also worth considering this – if the price of a 2019 Kew continues to rise then perhaps it is worth saving for a little longer and getting a proper one after all?  A 2019 version may look the part but it is one of those things that will most likely niggle you for a good many years to come.  Besides, the 2009 has kudos (or Kewdos) and not even Mint can recreate that.

 

© Article and images (except where stated) copyright Mik Smith 2022