The Snowman and The Snowdog 50p (2022)

All 2022 Snowman and The Snowdog 50ps were struck for collectors, so there is no worn circulation market to speak of. Coins still sealed in the Royal Mint pack with its greetings card fetch more than coins in capsules or distributors' cards, and toning or scratches lower the price. It sold in smaller numbers than any earlier Snowman 50p, and it remains the only design in the series with the Snowdog. Its colour edition and its silver and gold proofs each have their own market.

The Snowman and The Snowdog 50p was not issued for circulation, so it has no rarity rank.

This is the coin in the series with a dog on it: look for the Snowman together with the Snowdog, and no sign of James. The heads side still shows Queen Elizabeth II, dated 2022, even though it came out after her death, so it is the last Snowman 50p with her portrait. The colour edition prints the pair in colour and was also packed inside an advent calendar.

Known varieties of The Snowman and The Snowdog 50p, all listed among the UK error coins and varieties:

• Colour edition: A colour-printed brilliant uncirculated edition, also sold in a Christmas advent calendar; 9,556 were made.

The fifth coin in the series celebrated a different film. The Snowman and The Snowdog, an animated sequel made with Raymond Briggs' approval, came out in 2012 to mark 30 years since the original film of The Snowman. In it a boy called Billy finds the original Snowman's hat, scarf and nose in a box under his bedroom floorboards, builds the same snowman and a snowdog beside it, and that night both come to life. For the film's tenth anniversary The Royal Mint put the Snowdog on a UK coin for the first time, next to the Snowman. Robin Shaw, who was assistant director on the film, drew the design, and James does not appear on it. The coin was released on 1 November 2022, after the death of Queen Elizabeth II, yet it carries her fifth portrait by Jody Clark: its tools and packaging had already been produced, and keeping them fitted the King's wish for a sustainable changeover. The Mint also sold a colour edition, which appeared in an advent calendar as well, plus proofs in silver and gold.

In the Snowman set it followed The Snowman 50p of 2021 and came before The Snowman 50p of 2023.