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Counterfeit 2009 Kew Gardens 50p coins are known to exist (meanwhile there are actually many different types). The style of the one shown here is similar to the fake Magna Carta £2 coin and others that can regularly be purchased direct from a Chinese auction website. I always find that the eye (of the Queen) is the most obvious giveaway, as for some reason forgers often have difficulty getting the eye detail right. The forgery on this page at 7.2 grammes is also 10% lighter than a real one which should be 8 grammes. It’s diameter is also a tiny amount less than the 27.3mm that it should be.
Above: A real Kew Gardens 2009 50p (left) shown next to a fake. Note the wiry hair and the slightly larger lettering.
Above: Fake Kew Gardens 2009 50p.
Above: Close up of the Queen’s eye on a fake Kew Gardens 50p. Other fakes exist that are not exactly the same, but so far, all seem to have badly executed eyes (among many other inaccuracies).
Above: Close up of the Queen’s eye on a real Kew Gardens 50p.
The obverse is easiest to identify as a fake. Slight differences also exist on the reverse, relating to the tower and the word ‘Kew’.
The official Check Your Change pictures (which are of a proof coin):
Commemorative 50p coin, Type 13 (info on coin type numbers here)
Obverse Type 4b (bust design by Ian Rank-Broadley):
Reverse Type (design by Christopher Le Brun):
Mintage for Circulation: 210,000.
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jason callaghan
29th August 2016
i just weighed 2 kew gardens 50p not brilliant scales 1 weighed 7.97 and the ote 8.03 one seems the heavie one more slightly worn does this ring alarm bells or is one just less circulated
CYC-Admin
31st August 2016
Easiest way to spot the Chinese fakes is from the detail on the Queen (I find), particularly the eye area.
johnveheary@hotmail.com
14th October 2017
I also just weighed a Kew gardens coin. at 8.01- 7.93 and the other 8.03. appears correct, as gram scales can differ by o.4 or 0.1
Unless you have a genuine gram scale its hard to get an accurate absolute reading with those purchased on E bay or other on line.
The only real test is .. Send it to the Royal mint with a letter of explanation. (you will get it back real or fake) with a letter giving you its history. Send to The Royal Mint.Care of. Mr Chris Barker. Llantrisant Wales. is the best advise I can give you.
x2x999
Ben
5th September 2016
I have bought a Kew Gardens proof 50p.. One of my first purchases.. It’s in a Royal Mint box.. With a COA.. It doesn’t have a serial number on the COA.. Does that simply mean it’s fake? It looks real, the eye appears to be detailed? The coin has some brown tarnish to it?
Thanks in advance..
CYC-Admin
6th September 2016
Serial numbers are a fairly recent sales gimmick (some people pay big money for low numbers of certain issues and anything which causes excitement like that is good for future sales), I don’t think they had them in 2009. Email pictures of it to info@rotographic.com.
Richard
16th October 2016
I’m a coin collector and I need to get the 50p kew gardens commemorative coin specifics as I have one that I hope to be genuine coming from eBay…. I’ve heard if the Queens neck points to the p in pence it’s real and if to the e in pence it’s fake but where it says kew if it has no lines around the word it’s real an if so it’s fake…. The coin I have coming points to the p in pence but doesn’t look as though it has the lines…. But the ones on royal mint have the lines….. What do I do?
CYC-Admin
16th October 2016
So far I haven’t seen a convincing fake. Don’t put too much emphasis on individual things, look at the coin as a whole. The quality of the fakes (particularly the detail to the Queen) is always much poorer than the real thing. You’re right that the neck pointing to the ‘P’ is usually a good sign, but check the eye of the Queen, they never seem to be able to get that right! There are differences on the genuine coins to the lines around the KEW word, from memory I think the coins in BU packs (and proofs) have lines.
Mike
11th July 2018
Hi if it has the lines around the Kew this does not always mean its a fake as it could be a proof coin the easy way to spot a fake is to look at the eye detail have a look on checkyourchange,org and they give two examples and its easy to spot the difference
barbara
27th January 2017
i am a new collector of coins please help is the kew on the coin ment to have lines each side or not examples are very different
CYC-Admin
27th January 2017
The proof coin is actually similar to the known fakes in that regard. So far (on all I have seen) the heads side of the fakes is instantly recognisable as a fake. If your not sure, send me pictures: info@checkyourchange.co.uk
sam
7th April 2017
i just bought a nice shiny 50p kew garden,all looks normal,apart from the neck pointing at the letter e instead of p,the weight is 8g on the dot.has 2 line near the word kew,mirror shiny coin.all looks normal.but the neck pointing to the e is a mistery.if anyone can help or have the same ,let me know thanks.
CYC-Admin
7th April 2017
I got your email with pics, I’m afraid it’s a Chinese made forgery. Shame on the seller.
Gary walker
29th April 2017
Will you be able to verify if my kew gardens is a real or fake please? I seem to think it’s real I got it in my change.
CYC-Admin
29th April 2017
It’s certainly a good sign if you got it in your change as no one is going to spend pounds of a fake one from China and then spend it – although I suppose it is possible.
john veheary
14th October 2017
send the coin to C/O . Mr Chris Barker. Assistant curator. The Royal Mint Llantrisant wales. He will give you a written statement as to its genuine or not, you will get the coin back either way.
If the coin is fake you can then send a photo copy to the vendor who will refund you in full. No need to send the coin back as he or she will not want to handle it, unless he/she purchased it in good faith and wants to get his money back also.
I hope this helps you and others to make sure you are getting the real thing. x2x999
nabberdabber
22nd May 2017
I have brought 6 kew garden coins on ebay, all FAKE!
they use real kew garden coin in the photo`s but send a fake, have spoken with ebay and been refunded for all, but the sellers are still on ebay?
so best advice is don’t bother with ebay to many fraudsters on there trying to make fast money!
CYC-Admin
23rd May 2017
It certainly can be a minefield there! Sometimes it’s best to only buy coins from known dealers, but the problem there, for decimal collectors, is that many only deal with older coins.
Abbie
3rd August 2017
I got my kew garden 50p and I know mine aint fake and I would never buy a coin off e-bay. Don’t do it and use only Royal Mint none of the other web sites for coins are worth toffee…
CYC-Admin
3rd August 2017
There are plenty of other good websites that sell coins. The best ones tend to be the ones that don’t simply want your money, but actually also have a genuine interest in coins and an interesting assortment on offer. To me personally the Royal Mint coin sales dept is just about marketing and selling and has turned very gimmicky. The products are generally of good quality (for what they are) but you don’t actually have much of a choice, all new UK coins are made there and they use that monopoly to squeeze out as much financial gain as possible.
Harry
3rd December 2017
I have what suspect to be a fake D-Day comerative coin as it feels heavier than all the other 50p coins I have and it possess a slightly larger diameter than the rest also what is the correct procedure if I notice fake currency
CYC-Admin
13th December 2017
As they are pre 1997 larger type coins, they are all thicker/larger/heavier. I’m sure it’s fine. As for the correct procedure, technically I suppose you are supposed to hand it in (bank or police station). I’m not sure on that to be honest.
Douglas d'Enno
11th December 2017
I have just received a Kew 50p off Ebay and was surprised to get it for only around £7. I note that below the Queen’s head the wording is ‘IRB copy’ although your illustration shows only ‘IRB’. Contributors have referred to the word ‘Kew’ on the coin, but I can’t see that on my coin or that illustrated. Thanks for your advice.
CYC-Admin
13th December 2017
If you got it for £7 and it says ‘copy’ on it, then it’s a copy! The ones with ‘copy’ are just a different type of ‘replica’, part of a new wave of them to come over from China.
Ian Moore
11th January 2018
Hi,
I have a Kew Gardens coin (3 actually) but this one is causing some confusion. I’m not sure that it is real. Is there an email I could send you some photos to for you to take a look for me?
Is it also true that circulated versions of this coin have no lines either side of the KEW under the pagoda, but proof collection coins do?
CYC-Admin
12th January 2018
Yes, Kew coins in BU sets/packs and in proof sets have clear lines either side of the word ‘Kew’. Some have been found in circulation like that, but it is thought they are likely to be ones that were spent from the sets/packs. The fakes also have the lines but also have other tell tale features. info@checkyourchange.co.uk
paul carew
25th February 2018
A good way to spot a fake Kew 50p is that a real one will have the top of the tower leading into the rim around the edge and the fake will have the point of the tower just about touching the rim of the coin.
CYC-Admin
25th February 2018
I’m always weary about giving specific tell-tale fake signs because all it would require would be for the Chinese to do a different batch of fakes and the info would no longer be valid, but thanks anyway Paul.
Mike
7th March 2018
On checking my loose change the other day I found that I had acquired a Kew 50p but, I was a little hesitant to take it as being authentic due to many fakes doing the rounds. I did the necessary checks by ensuring that the point at the bottom of the Queen’s head was actually pointing to the letter P (tick) and that the eye detail was as it should be (tick)…so everything checked out ok 🙂 I weighed the coin and it registered 7.90grammes. I also weighed another 50p and it also weighed in at 7.90grammes which makes me think that its spot on.
Amanda Redmond
21st May 2018
Hi
I have a Johnson Dictionary 50p,
I’m just wondering if it’s worth anything?
Thanks
CYC-Admin
22nd May 2018
Had a few enquiries about this coin recently. I suspect some plonker advertised one on eBay for silly money and someone working for a tabloid noticed it and thought it would make a great story, because there simply aren’t enough made-up ’50p worth x hundred pounds’ stories. In the real world though, it’s just a very common coin and is worth 50p I’m afraid.
Amanda Redmond
21st May 2018
I also just want to know how to tell if its real?
CYC-Admin
22nd May 2018
I’m not aware of any known fakes of that coin and forgers have never really targeted 50p coins (apart from the Kew Gardens one) so I would imagine it’s real.
Cris Martin
11th May 2019
Right. Enough is enough. If you look on the royal Mint website the new 2019 Kew 50p is pictured. The top of the pagoda has NO point and runs into the perimeter. The word “KEW” has NO lines around it. I bought this and sure enough it is the same as the picture.
So questions arise; Why would the mint change the look of the pagoda from the 2009 to the 2019 coin? If they used the original reverse die – MOST likely as it wasn’t used much – the implication is obvious.
I have read that the pagoda with point and lines is fake which is certainly borne out by the mint pictures.
Why therefore are you guys showing pictures of a fake reverse for the new 2019 coin in the Android app? Yet the obverse appears to be genuine.
Or are there TWO types of official KEW 50ps?????
Surely to goodness it is simple enough to ask the mint?
CYC-Admin
11th May 2019
They haven’t used the exact original 2009 Kew reverse die for the 2019 coin. I assume it’s either been re-worked (digitally) or they may have rendered a completely new die. I don’t know why, perhaps the original 2009 dies were no longer in a fit state for re-use (from being used a lot but or from sitting around for 10 years – if they even kept them in the first place). There were actually two quite distinct types of the original 2009 reverse – one was used for the circulation coins and the other (with the lines) for the BU and Proof coins. Never mind all the hype and fuss for a moment, but that actually means that the circulation type will be quite scarce (even genuinely rare) in very high grade. The BU and proof versions are pretty much just as common as the other design BU and proof 50p’s but with the important difference that you actually easily tell the difference between the BU/Proof and normal circ version. To answer your question – the reverse shown on the app for both the 2009 and 2019 coins is a picture of a proof version 2009 coin (a genuine one of course).
Cris Martin
16th May 2019
Oh! Thank you very much for explaining this. However, it does mean that now I have two types to collect if I can!
Best regards.
I will now wind my neck in……..
MG
19th May 2019
Hi. So does this mean that both 2009 and 2019 Kew gardens 50p coins are rare ?
CYC-Admin
19th May 2019
Not really. The 2009 could be described as scarcer than the others, but they certainly aren’t rare in the true sense. A rare thing would be something that you have the money for but actually can’t find for sale after months of searching. The 2019 coins will never be circulated, which seems to get some people excited. Realistically though, there will probably always be enough around to buy.
David Elcomb
5th April 2020
Hi. Sorry to rake up old questions. I have a Kew 50p as a coin cover. Can I assume that as this looks untampered with, that this is real
CYC-Admin
5th April 2020
Yes, probably. But no one can be sure without seeing it. I’ve seen people that have put other date ‘NEW PENCE’ 2p’s in 1983 sets to make it look like the rare one.
Robert Laidlaw
4th February 2021
Beware on eBay.There are 2009 coin sets with the supposed BU
Kew Gardens 50p which on closer inspection are not the real coin.
Very easy to switch for lookalike and sell for £300+ and then sell
the genuine coin separately .
Also find the 2019 version is also being sold for more than
£50 . Just crazy!! They are still available from a reputable coin
dealer for under £10. Just bought mine,so hello eBay.
Robert Laidlaw
5th February 2021
Can anyone check a 2009 Royal Mint UK Proof Coin Collection
which is currently up for auction on eBay and tell me that those coins are the real mccoy. This collection also includes the much sought after KEW GARDENS 50p coin. If those are Brilliant
Uncirculated or even genuine then I shall need to get an eye test
urgently. The item listing is No.174626108411 and has been bid
over £50 so far with just under 3 days until the auction ends.
I just hope those bidders are aware of what exactly they are buying. Please look again you guys out there.
Please advise ASAP. Thanks.
CYC-Admin
5th February 2021
It’s hard to say for sure as the pictures aren’t great and the seller doesn’t show the obverse, which is always a lot more obvious than the reverse.
Robert Laidlaw
6th February 2021
Thanks for your feedback. I contacted the seller and he/she has
provided more pictures which include the obverse side which I had
asked to see. My conclusion is that those additional pictures are
clearly from a Brilliant Uncirculated Proof set and definitely not
the same as the original listing. i received a response this morning
and basically told if I don’t like the coins on offer then don’t bid.
I will not be bidding. Bidders have now pushed the total over
£150 so far.