Archery 50p

Introducing the Archery 50p Coin

In anticipation of the 2012 XXX London Summer Olympics, the Royal Mint released 29 50p coins in 2011 celebrating Olympic and Paralympic sports. Archery became an official Olympic sport at the 1900 Paris Summer Olympics and an official Paralympic sport at the 1960 Summer Paralympics in Rome. At the 2012 London Games, South Korea ranked first in Olympic medal count while Russia ranked first in the Paralympic standings. 

Archery 2011 50p

The Archery 50p was designed by Piotr Powaga, an agronomist from Yorkshire. The design features the moment of tension in the athlete’s right hand as the bow is pulled back, just before its release. The 2012 Paralympic logo is centred at the top. 

In an interview with the Royal Mint, Piotr described why he chose to submit a design for this sport. “I just wanted to do something not including a man’s silhouette and focus on one aspect which is the essence of the whole thing. So, first of all, I was thinking about the eye and the muscle structure pulling the bow, but it was too much and could not be expressed on such a small space. So that when I asked my wife to grab something in her hand and pretend you are pulling the bow and eventually I found my design of the hand pulling the bowstring.”

(Caption: Pictogram for the Archery event at the 2012 London Paralympics)

How Much is the Archery 50p Coin Worth?

On eBay, as of early August 2019, the highest price sold for a circulated single Archery 50p coin was £2.29. However, for a single Archery 50p uncirculated coin still in its original packaging, the highest price sold was £5.95. 

How Many Archery 50p Coins Were Made in Circulation?

The Royal Mint released into circulation 3,345,000 Archery 50p coins. This is the greatest amount of any London Olympic 50p coin. 

Other Versions of the Archery 50p Coin

Along with the circulation coin in base metal, the Royal Mint also created a Silver Proof version (mintage: 30,000) and a Brilliant Uncirculated version. 

Other Olympic Games Coins

If you’re interested in learning more about the London Olympic 50p coins, we have an entire guide devoted to these wonderful pieces. However, if you’re looking for other Olympics commemorative coins, there are many others to find. 

There’s the £2 coin series for the Handover Ceremonies and the £5 coin series counting down to the 2012 London Olympics. There’s also the Team GB 50p minted for the 2016 Rio Summer Olympics and the 2008 £2 coin created for the 100^th anniversary of the 1908 London Olympics.