Basketball 50p

Introducing the Basketball 50p Coin

Even though Basketball was invented in 1891, the sport didn’t make it to the Olympics until almost 50 years later. It became an official sport for men at the 1936 Berlin Summer Olympics and then an official sport for women at the 1976 Montreal Summer Olympics. Over the course of basketball’s Olympic history, the United States has been awarded the highest amount of medals, for both the men and women’s competitions, for a total of 28. 

Basketball 2011 50p

The coin was designed by Sarah Payne, a greeting card and toy designer. It features four players moving the basketball from left to right in front of a background textured like a basketball. The London 2012 logo sits at the top.

In an interview with the Royal Mint, Sarah describes her inspiration for the design. “When I first went into designing a coin, there was a big list on the Royal Mint website and it gave links to examples if you weren’t sure what the sport involved so I went through a lot of the sports and when I got to basketball, I could capture the movement. It was basically looking and researching, I used the basketball itself as a texture for the background, showing the basketball without having to use the word basketball.”

(Caption: Pictogram for the Basketball event at the 2012 London Olympics)

How Much is the Basketball 50p Coin Worth?

As of early August 2019, the highest price for a single, circulated 2011 Basketball 50p was £5.00. 

How Many Basketball 50p Coins Were Made in Circulation?

The Royal Mint release 1,748,000 Basketball 50p coins into circulation in 2011. 

Other Versions of the Basketball 50p Coin

Along with the base metal (circulation) coin that you might still be able to find in your change, the Royal Mint also released a Silver Proof version (mintage of 30,000) and Brilliant Uncirculated version of the Basketball 50p coin. 

Other Olympics Coins

To celebrate the 2012 London Olympics, the Royal Mint released 29 50p coins featuring sports from both the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic competitions. There are also the series of £2 coins to commemorate the Handover Ceremonies and a £5 coin series counting down to the 2012 Olympics. 

However, if you’re interested in more than just the 2012 Games, there’s so much more to find! The Royal Mint supported Team GB with a 50p design featuring a swimmer for the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro. In 2008, it also honoured the 100^th anniversary of the 1908 London Olympics with a £2 coin. 

If you’re interested in other 2012 Olympic sport coins, we also have the Swimming 50p, Triathlon 50p, and the famous Offside Rule 50p.