The Snowman 50p (2021)
The 2021 Snowman 50p shows James drawing the Snowman's smile, a scene from Raymond Briggs' original book. It was the fourth Christmas 50p and, like the rest of the series, a collector-only issue. It is the fourth of the eight Snowman 50p coins and one of the 172 50p designs struck since 1969.
The Snowman 50p value
- Uncirculated
- typical £10, range £9 to £12
Worked out from 11 published prices (7 dealer prices, 2 price guides and 2 sold-price reports), each condition from its own prices, checked in September 2026.
Since the 2021 Snowman 50p was only ever sold in collector finishes, its price depends on edition and presentation more than on wear. A clean coin in the Royal Mint's Christmas card is the usual benchmark, and coins repacked into other companies' cards or capsules, or showing handling marks, sell for less. Colour coins, advent calendar ones included, and the precious-metal proofs form separate markets. Plain coins sold in numbers close to the 2020 issue.
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
On the 2021 coin James is adding a smile to the Snowman's face, so the Snowman is being finished rather than flying, hugging or dancing. Queen Elizabeth II and the date 2021 are on the heads side. Colour-printed coins exist too, some sold singly and some packed in an advent calendar.
Known varieties of The Snowman 50p, all listed among the UK error coins and varieties:
- Colour edition: A colour-printed brilliant uncirculated edition, with an issue limit of 10,000 sold singly plus 1,500 in an advent calendar; 11,577 were made.
The Snowman 50p design
Robin Shaw returned for the fourth Snowman 50p and took his scene from early in the story, while James is still building his new friend in the garden. The coin catches the moment the boy draws a smile onto the Snowman's face, before night falls and the Snowman comes to life. The Royal Mint launched it earlier in the season than any Snowman coin before, on 18 October 2021, with the standard brilliant uncirculated coin presented in a Christmas card. Further coins went out in tubes to distributors, who packed them themselves, and from 18 November until Christmas Eve the Royal Mint Experience offered a strike-your-own version. A colour edition was offered on its own and inside an advent calendar, and the scene was struck in silver and gold proof as well. Queen Elizabeth II was still on the obverse, in Jody Clark's portrait, with the date 2021 in the legend.
In the Snowman set it followed The Snowman 50p of 2020 and came before The Snowman and The Snowdog 50p of 2022.
The Snowman 50p specifications
- Denomination
- 50p
- Year
- 2021
- Type
- Commemorative
- Issue
- Not issued for circulation
- Series
- The Snowman
- Occasion
- The Snowman, Raymond Briggs' picture book, fourth 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
What scene is on the 2021 Snowman 50p?
James drawing on the Snowman's smile. It comes from the building of the Snowman at the start of Raymond Briggs' tale, before the pair's night-time adventure.
Can you find the 2021 Snowman 50p in change?
Not in the normal way. It was never issued for circulation. Buyers got it in a Christmas card or a distributor's pack, and visitors to the Royal Mint Experience could make one on the spot.