Team GB (Tokyo 2020) 50p (2020 and 2021)

No Tokyo Team GB 50p was struck for circulation, so every coin is a brilliant uncirculated or proof collector piece. The date on the heads side matters: coins dated 2020 first came in the annual sets, while 2021-dated coins come from the single packs issued after the Games were postponed, and dealers list the two separately. Coins still in their Royal Mint pack or a certified card sell above loose ones. The colour, silver and gold editions are priced as distinct collector coins.

The Team GB (Tokyo 2020) 50p was not issued for circulation, so it has no rarity rank.

This Team GB 50p is covered in small sports symbols and pieces of equipment rather than a single athlete, with the Team GB logo, the Olympic rings and 2020 in the design. The reverse always reads 2020, but the heads side can be dated 2020 or 2021: 2020 on coins from the annual sets and packs of that year, 2021 on the later single release. The 2016 coin shows one swimmer, and the Paris coin shows two mosaic-style athletes. None of these coins was released into change.

Known varieties of the Team GB (Tokyo 2020) 50p, all listed among the UK error coins and varieties:

• 2021-dated obverse: Issued on its own in 2021 after the Games were postponed; the reverse still reads 2020 and the obverse is dated 2021. A colour-printed brilliant uncirculated version was also sold.

The Royal Mint first included this Team GB design in its 2020 annual coin sets, ready for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games. When the coronavirus pandemic pushed the Games back a year, the coin was not released on its own until 21 June 2021, the year the Games finally took place. That single release kept the original reverse, still reading 2020, but paired it with a 2021-dated obverse, so the design exists with two different dates. David Knapton designed the reverse to reflect the range of events at a modern Games: symbols of Olympic sports and pieces of sporting equipment are spread across the coin with the Team GB logo and the Olympic rings, together with the lettering 2020 and TEAM GB and his initials DK. Queen Elizabeth II appears on the obverse in Jody Clark's portrait. Besides the standard brilliant uncirculated coin, a colour-printed version was sold, along with silver proof, silver piedfort and gold proof editions.

In the Team GB set it followed the Team GB 50p of 2016 and came before the Team GB and ParalympicsGB 50p of 2024.