Paddington Bear 50p coins are finally in circulation this month

The indispensable coins of this year may soon appear in your change.

The Royal Mint has announced that later this month two 50p coins with the national treasure Paddington Bear will come into circulation.

Collective versions of the coins were released earlier in June to coincide with the 60th anniversary of the first appearance of British import from Darkest Peru & # 39;

Two special 50p coins with Paddington Bear come into circulation this month and coincide with the 60th anniversary of the publication of the first book with the character

Michael Bond & # 39; s children's book & # 39; A Bear Called Paddington & # 39 ;, which the character discovered at the eponymous train station in London, was published 60 years ago today.

Silver unfurled versions of the coins, depicting the Peruvian bear on his suitcase at Paddington station and waving the Union Flag outside Buckingham Palace, are available for people to buy from the Royal Mint for £ 10.

The coins were designed by Jody Clark and David Knapton.

In June, This is Money unveiled a student in Caerphilly, South Wales, who could get hold of one of the coins months before the official release.

Jordan Mcilquham caused a madness when she placed it on eBay, with bidders offering more than £ 15,000 for the then unreleased currency, although it is not known what it was eventually sold for.

Welsh student Jordan Mcilquham grabbed one of the Paddington 50p coins before the Mint officially released him – they then tried to buy it back for £ 1k before dropping their bid.

But those who want to get their feet on the new coins that pay a high asking price, do not have to worry anymore, because you could soon find one in your change.

The Mint seems in fact to anticipate the fact that many people want to keep both versions that they sell their own compilation album for hoarders to keep their finds safe.

The pair Paddington 50ps follows the previous commemorative coin collection of the Mint, which was issued between 2016 and 2018 on the occasion of the 150th anniversary of the popular children's author Beatrix Potter.

The 50p coins in that series contain characters from Potter's books, including Peter Rabbit, Tom Kitten and Ms. Tiggy-Winkle.

It is impossible to say whether these Paddington coins will become valuable in the future, since the Royal Mint does not release any refurbishment figures in advance.

As a rule of thumb, the rarer the coin, the more value a collector attaches to it. For example, the Kew Gardens 50p – minted in 2009 – had a run of only 210,000.

These can now be sold online north of £ 100.

The Tom Kitten 50p was one of a number of coins that were previously issued by the Mint on the occasion of the 150th anniversary of the children's author Beatrix Potter.

Probably there will be a strong demand for the coins, because people both want to include Paddington designs in their collection.

Early examples of the circulating coins will probably also end up on auction sites for a much higher value than the nominal value.

Nicola Howell, director of consumer currency at the Royal Mint, said: & # 39; If you like to collect coins, keep your eyes open for Paddington Bear in your change and keep them on their own special compilation album.

Paddington Bear is loved and part of British popular culture, and we are incredibly proud to play a role in the 60th anniversary.