Athletics holds a special place among the sports celebrated for the Games, combining a major Olympic discipline with a distinctive commemorative issue. Here, we examine the value of the 50p Athletics, its rarity and its appeal among collectors. The 50p Olympic Athletics 2012 coin remains an important part of the sporting set and is still widely collected today.
Value of the Olympic Athletics 50 pence coin 2011
The Athletics issue has an exceptional earlier version that stands apart from most 50 p coin releases. In 2009, nine-year-old Florence Jackson won a competition with more than 17,000 entries, becoming the youngest person to design a British coin. Her winning artwork was first issued exclusively in a special Blue Peter presentation pack before the later version entered circulation.
The value of the 2009 Athletics Olympic 50p is considerably higher because only 19,722 examples of this Blue Peter Winner’s Edition were released, and none were issued for circulation. The table below compares its collector value with the much more widely available later issue.
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What event is commemorated by this issue?
 | Image of each 50p ever minted Meaning of all 50 pence coins Stories about some mintages Value for each numismatic grade |
The Athletics 50 pence coin celebrates one of the fundamental disciplines of the Games, encompassing events that test speed, endurance, strength and agility. Athletics has been part of every modern Summer Games since their revival in 1896 and remains one of the most important parts of the programme.
The reverse shows an athlete jumping over a bar, offering a simple representation of the discipline. The image captures the movement and physical effort associated with athletics while providing an immediately recognisable sporting scene.
Is the 50p coin Athletics part of a series?
Yes. It belongs to the Olympics 2011 50 pence coins series, a commemorative programme covering 29 different sports, with a separate issue created for each discipline.
The table below allows you to explore the other sports included in the series, with dedicated pages covering their history, rarity and current collector values.