The Snowman 50p (2020)
On the 2020 Snowman 50p the Snowman and James share a hug, and this was the first year the Christmas 50p was offered as a colour brilliant uncirculated edition. It was the third Snowman design and, like the others, was not released into circulation. It is the third of the eight Snowman 50p coins and one of the 172 50p designs struck since 1969.
The Snowman 50p value
- Uncirculated
- typical £10, range £7 to £11
Worked out from 6 published prices (2 price guides, 2 dealer prices and 2 sold-price reports), each condition from its own prices, checked in September 2026.
The 2020 Snowman 50p exists only in collector finishes, so what matters is the edition and its packaging. Standard brilliant uncirculated coins in the Royal Mint pack sell above loose or capsuled ones, and handling marks lower the price. The colour edition was made in far smaller numbers than the plain coin and is valued separately, as are the silver and gold proofs. Sales of the plain coin fell below those of 2018 and 2019.
The Snowman 50p mintage and rarity
The Snowman 50p was not issued for circulation, so it has no rarity rank.
How to spot The Snowman 50p
The pair are locked in an embrace on this one; the earlier coins show them flying and standing, and later ones show a drawn-on smile, the Snowdog, dancing or a Christmas tree. Its obverse carries the Queen and the date 2020. The colour-printed brilliant uncirculated edition has the scene in colour, while the standard coin is plain cupro-nickel.
Known varieties of The Snowman 50p, all listed among the UK error coins and varieties:
- Colour edition: The first colour-printed brilliant uncirculated Snowman 50p, sold only by The Royal Mint; 8,513 were made.
The Snowman 50p design
For the third coin in the series, The Royal Mint turned to Robin Shaw, who had been assistant director of The Snowman and The Snowdog, the 2012 sequel to the animated film. His design is a simple, close one: the Snowman and James wrapped in an embrace, drawn after Raymond Briggs' illustrations. Jody Clark's effigy of the Queen stays on the obverse, dated 2020. The coin came out on 1 December 2020, almost a month later in the year than the first two. Besides the standard brilliant uncirculated coin in Royal Mint packs and distributors' packaging, this was the first year of a colour-printed brilliant uncirculated Snowman 50p, a limited edition sold only by The Royal Mint. Collectors could also buy it as a silver proof or a gold proof, and Shaw went on to design every Snowman 50p that followed up to 2025.
In the Snowman set it followed The Snowman 50p of 2019 and came before The Snowman 50p of 2021.
The Snowman 50p specifications
- Denomination
- 50p
- Year
- 2020
- Type
- Commemorative
- Issue
- Not issued for circulation
- Series
- The Snowman
- Occasion
- The Snowman, Raymond Briggs' picture book, third Christmas 50p
- Designer
- Robin Shaw
- Composition
- Cupro-nickel
- Weight
- 8 g
- Diameter
- 27.3 mm
- Shape
- Seven-sided
- Edge
- Plain
- Obverse
- Elizabeth II, fifth portrait by Jody Clark
The Snowman 50p questions
Is there a colour version of the 2020 Snowman 50p?
Yes. The Royal Mint sold a colour-printed brilliant uncirculated edition, available only from the Mint, and 2020 was the first year the series had one. Colour versions have followed every year since.
Is the 2020 Snowman 50p in circulation?
No. It was issued only to collectors, as a brilliant uncirculated coin, a colour edition and silver and gold proofs, so it will only appear in change if someone has spent one.
Who designed the 2020 Snowman 50p?
Robin Shaw, who worked as assistant director on The Snowman and The Snowdog. The Royal Mint credits him with every Snowman 50p from 2020 to 2025.