The Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew, in Richmond-upon-Thames, Surrey, trace their origins to 1759, when the gardens at the royal palace of Kew were developed as a botanical collection. Over the following two and a half centuries they grew into one of the world's foremost scientific institutions, housing the most extensive collection of living and preserved plant specimens on the planet.
Kew was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2003, recognised both for its outstanding botanical collections and for its remarkable landscape and architecture. Today the gardens attract over two million visitors a year and their scientific work - spanning plant research, conservation, and the cataloguing of global biodiversity - is internationally renowned.
In 2009, Kew celebrated its 250th anniversary as a formal botanical garden. The Royal Mint joined the celebrations by issuing a commemorative 50p coin - a decision that, in retrospect, created one of the most significant coins in modern British coinage history.
The reverse was designed by British artist Christopher Le Brun RA. The central image is the Chinese Pagoda - a ten-storey, 49-metre pagoda built in 1761 to a design by William Chambers - which remains one of Kew's most iconic structures. Le Brun has encircled the tower with a decorative leafy climbing vine, evoking the botanical character of the gardens. The word KEW appears at the base of the pagoda, with the anniversary dates 1759 and 2009 flanking the tower on the left and right respectively.
The design is widely regarded as one of the finest on any modern British 50p. The interplay between the architectural precision of the pagoda and the organic, flowing vine creates a composition that is both elegant and immediately recognisable.
The obverse carries the fourth definitive portrait of Queen Elizabeth II by sculptor Ian Rank-Broadley FRBS, which was used on UK coins from 1998 until 2015. The inscription reads ELIZABETH · II D · G · REG · F · D, with FIFTY PENCE in smaller lettering below. The initials IRB appear below the Queen's neck, identifying the portrait's engraver.
Later re-issues of the Kew Gardens design (see the 2019 section below) use Jody Clark's fifth portrait of the Queen, introduced in 2015, which is a straightforward way to distinguish later versions from the original 2009 coin.
| Specification | Detail |
|---|---|
| Denomination | 50 pence |
| Year | 2009 |
| Alloy (circulation & BU) | Cupronickel (75% copper, 25% nickel) |
| Weight | 8.00g |
| Diameter | 27.3mm |
| Shape | Equilateral curve heptagon (seven sides) |
| Edge | Plain |
| Obverse designer | Ian Rank-Broadley FRBS |
| Reverse designer | Christopher Le Brun RA |
| Issued by | The Royal Mint |
The 2009 Kew Gardens 50p entered general circulation with a mintage of just 210,000 - a figure so low that it remains one of the rarest circulating coins in modern British coinage history. For context, a typical commemorative 50p design is struck in the millions; the Kew Gardens coin was produced at a volume around 7 times lower than the next rarest circulating 50p.
The reason for the low mintage was mundane rather than deliberate. The demand for new 50p coins at the time of issue was unusually low - banks, cash centres, and the Treasury had reduced their forecasts for 50p denomination demand. The Royal Mint had begun striking the Kew Gardens coins to fulfil what was expected to be a larger order, but when the forecast was revised downward, production was halted after just 210,000 had been struck. The coin was not intended to be a rarity; it simply happened to be released at a moment when the nation's need for new 50p coins was low. A contributing factor was likely the large number of 50p coins - over 26 million - that had entered circulation the previous year in 2008.
The coin's scarcity only became widely known in February 2014, when the Royal Mint published comprehensive mintage data for the first time. Almost overnight, the Kew Gardens 50p became a household name and the subject of enormous media attention. Coins that had been changing hands in pockets and purses unnoticed for five years suddenly became the focus of an intense public search.
The 2009 Kew Gardens design was produced in five distinct versions, each with its own mintage and finish.
Mintage: 210,000. Struck to the standard specification for coins entering general circulation, these were released into the money supply in 2009. They are the version that collectors seek when searching their change, and they form the basis of the coin's value and reputation. Circulation coins are struck once at high speed - up to 750 per minute - meaning they lack the fine surface finish of collector editions.
Mintage: 128,364 (comprising 11,281 in dedicated Kew Gardens Royal Mint packs, and 117,083 sold through other official packaging such as sets and collector cards). BU coins are struck with greater care than circulation coins - typically more than once - producing sharper relief and a finer surface. They were available for purchase from the Royal Mint from 7 December 2008. Note that BU versions feature two fine lines either side of the word KEW at the base of the design; this is a feature of the more detailed BU and Proof strikes, not an indicator of a fake (see the Authentication section below).
Mintage: 7,575. Struck in sterling silver to proof standard - the highest quality of coin production, involving multiple strikes on specially prepared, polished blanks. Silver Proof Kew Gardens 50ps are housed in presentation cases with certificates of authenticity.
Mintage: 2,967. A piedfort is a coin struck on a blank twice the standard thickness, producing an especially weighty and substantial piece. The Silver Piedfort version is considerably rarer than the standard Silver Proof.
Mintage: 629. Struck in 22 carat gold to the highest proof standard, this is the rarest of all the official Kew Gardens 50p editions. With fewer than 630 examples in existence, Gold Proof specimens are seldom seen on the open market.
Condition is everything with circulated examples. A worn or damaged coin will still attract collector interest given the coin's rarity, but the premium above face value varies greatly. The figures below reflect typical sale prices in the current secondary market; The Britannia Coin Company can provide a specific valuation for any coin you bring to us.
Values are indicative and subject to change with market conditions. The Britannia Coin Company recommends obtaining a current valuation before buying or selling.
In 2019, the Royal Mint re-issued the Kew Gardens 50p design as part of the Celebrating 50 Years of the 50p commemorative set, marking the half-century of the 50 pence coin. The 2019 re-issue is not the same coin as the 2009 original and is worth considerably less. The key differences are:
While perfectly collectible in its own right, the 2019 coin should not be confused with the 2009 original. Always check the date carefully when buying.
The Kew Gardens 50p's fame attracted counterfeiters, and fake examples - often struck in base metals and sold on secondary market platforms - have circulated since the coin's popularity surged in 2014. Here is what to check:
A genuine 2009 circulation coin should carry the date 2009 and Ian Rank-Broadley's portrait (identifiable by the initials IRB below the Queen's neck). If you see a different date or a different portrait, you may be looking at a re-issue or a different coin entirely.
A genuine 50p weighs 8.00g. Fake coins are often lighter or heavier. A jeweller's or postal scale accurate to 0.1g is sufficient to perform this check.
The coin should measure 27.3mm across. Fakes are sometimes slightly larger or smaller.
The initials IRB should appear in small, neatly engraved lettering below the Queen's neck. On fakes, these initials are sometimes absent, oversized, or poorly defined. Some fakes also include the word COPY near the initials, which immediately identifies them as non-genuine (this is actually a legal requirement in some jurisdictions for replica coins).
On genuine coins, the rim is flat and the design is in low relief. Fakes often have an exaggerated, raised rim and the design may appear sunken into the face of the coin rather than raised.
On a genuine coin examined closely, the Queen's eye has a fine, almost three-dimensional quality. On fakes this detail is typically flat and poorly defined.
Two fine lines either side of the word KEW at the base of the design appear on BU, Proof, and the 2019 re-issue - but not on genuine 2009 circulation coins. Their presence on a coin claimed to be a 2009 circulated example warrants closer inspection, though it does not by itself confirm a fake.
The safest way to ensure authenticity is to purchase from an established, reputable coin dealer. The Britannia Coin Company can authenticate coins brought to us in person at our Royal Wootton Bassett shop.
To appreciate just how rare the Kew Gardens 50p is, consider that there are approximately 1.5 billion 50p coins in circulation across the UK. Of these, 210,000 are Kew Gardens coins - meaning they represent just 0.013% of all circulating 50ps. The Royal Mint has noted that statistically there is only one Kew Gardens 50p for approximately every 300 people in the UK.
The coin held the title of the UK's rarest circulating 50p from the time its mintage was revealed in 2014 until 2024, when the 2023 Atlantic Salmon 50p - with a confirmed circulation mintage of 200,000 - narrowly displaced it. The Kew Gardens coin is now the second rarest circulating 50p on record.
The Britannia Coin Company regularly buys and sells 2009 Kew Gardens 50p coins in all conditions and versions, including circulated examples, BU editions, and the rarer proof and precious metal variants. We can offer:
Visit us at 29 High Street, Royal Wootton Bassett, SN4 7AA, call 01793 205 007 (Monday-Friday, 9am-5pm), or get in touch via our website at britanniacoincompany.com.