Goalball 50p (2011)

Fewer Goalball coins were struck than most in the London 2012 set, so a circulated example sells for a little more than the common designs, but condition remains the main factor. A coin with a crisp player and clear speed lines is worth more than a worn one. A Goalball coin kept in its Royal Mint card or coin cover sells above one from change, and more when sealed.

With 1,615,500 struck for circulation, the Goalball 50p is the tenth rarest of the 81 ranked 50p designs and has the 52nd lowest mintage of all 194 circulating UK designs. That puts it in the Scarce band, for mintages 1,000,000 to 2,499,999.

The next rarer 50p is the Tennis 50p, with 1,454,000 struck, and the next more common is the Shooting 50p, with 1,656,500 struck.

Look for a single crouching player releasing the ball low, with curved speed lines trailing behind it. At the top, the logo carries the three Paralympic agitos inside the 0 instead of the Olympic rings, together with the words Paralympic Games. Look closely at the ball for the bell the designer added. The date, 2011, is on the heads side. No varieties are recorded.

Jonathan Wren came across the London 2012 coin competition in a London newspaper and entered at the last minute, producing four designs across Olympic and Paralympic sports before settling on goalball. He knew nothing about the sport at first, but after reading up on it he found it interesting and thought its fast pace would suit a bold, single image. Working from images of goalball found online, he set out to make the design as striking as possible and to capture the speed of play, adding speed lines around the ball. He also put a bell on the ball as a clue to how the game works for people who had never seen it. The reverse shows a goalball player throwing, with the ball in motion, under the Paralympic form of the London 2012 logo, which has three agitos inside the 0 and the words Paralympic Games. The coin entered circulation dated 2011.

It was one of the 30 coins in the Olympic set issued in 2011.