Handball 50p (2011)

Fewer Handball coins were struck than most in the London 2012 set, though it is far from the scarcest, so condition decides most of the price. Look for a crisp player and clear court lines; worn coins where the background has faded are worth the least. Uncirculated coins in the Royal Mint's Handball coin card or coin cover sell above those from change, particularly with the packaging unopened.

With 1,676,500 struck for circulation, the Handball 50p is the thirteenth rarest of the 81 ranked 50p designs and has the 57th 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 Taekwondo 50p, with 1,664,000 struck, and the next more common is the Modern Pentathlon 50p, with 1,689,500 struck.

The Handball 50p shows one player in mid-throw over a flat plan of a court, with the court lines and goals visible behind. At a glance it can look like the Basketball coin, so check the background: Handball has the court plan, while Basketball has the dimpled surface of a ball. The Olympic logo is above, and the heads side reads 2011. There are no known varieties of the Handball coin.

Natasha Ratcliffe loves coins and medals, so when the Royal Mint's London 2012 competition appeared in the press she took the chance. She had never played handball, but watching it she was struck by how the players are always leaping with arms raised, off the ground and full of action, which reminded her of hurling sponge balls around as a child. She studied photographs of players to find the most dynamic poses and give the coin a personal feel. Once she had her figure, she realised it looked rather like basketball, so she added the court behind it. Laid under the player, the pitch markings give the design depth, and she felt the background almost suggests a crowd around the court. The reverse shows the player throwing the ball over that plan of the court, complete with its lines and goals, under the London 2012 logo and Olympic rings. The coin is dated 2011.

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