Beatrix Potter by Numbers
- Romiley Coins
- Jul 22
- 3 min read
A deep dive into the mintage figures of the Beatrix Potter 50p collection
Background
British author, Beatrix Potter was born on 28 July 1866 in South Kensington.
She is best known for her 'Tale of Peter Rabbit' children's stories.
Twenty three books were published between 1902 and 1930, featuring well known characters such as Mrs Tittlemouse and Squirrel Nutkin.
Before finding literary fame, Potter was a passionate natural scientist, specifically focusing on mycology (the study of fungi).
Upon her death in 1943 she bequeathed over 4000 acres of land, farms and properties to the National Trust.
To honour her legacy and commemorate the 150th anniversary of her birth, the Royal Mint announced a new 50p coin series for release in 2016.
2016: The First Release
A set of five coins were released in 2016 including the official 'anniversary' design which featured a silhouette of Beatrix Potter, and four other designs based on her famous characters.
All of the coins in the collection were designed by Royal Mint engrave, Emma Noble
The initial release included the the now famous 2016 Jemima Puddle-Duck coin.
It created a hype amongst collectors which had not been seen since the Olympic 50p coins were released back in 2011.
For Puddle-Duck, due to its low mintage figures, which at the time placed it second behind only the 2009 Kew Gardens in respect of rare commemorative coins in circulation, only added to the intrigue surrounding these coins and what would happen next.Â
Mintage figures for general circulation
2016 Beatrix Potter | 6,900,000 |
2016 Peter Rabbit | 9,700,000 |
2016 Mrs Tiggywinkle | 8,800,000 |
2016 Squirrel Nutkin | 5,000,000 |
2016 Jemima Puddleduck | 2,100,000 |
VOTE FOR YOUR FAVOURITE 2016 COIN
2016 Beatrix Potter
2016 Peter Rabbit
2016 Mrs Tiggywinkle
2016 Squirrel Nutkin
2017: The Second Release
Following the immense popularity of the 2016 inaugural release, a further four new designs were announced for release in 2017 which included a second Peter Rabbit coin and three others - featuring characters from the Beatrix Potter books.
Did You Know?
The 2017 Benjamin Bunny coin has the highest mintage in the entire coin series (2016-2020)
Mintage figures for general circulation
2017 Tale of Peter Rabbit | 19,900,000 |
2017 Mr Jeremy Fisher | 9,700,000 |
2017 Benjamin Bunny | 25,000,000 |
2017 Tom Kitten | 9,500,000 |
VOTE FOR YOUR FAVOURITE 2017 COIN
2017 Tale of Peter Rabbit
2017 Benjamin Bunny
2017 Tom Kitten
2017 Mr Jeremy Fisher
2018: The Third Release
Given the array of characters within the original stories, coin collectors eagerly awaited the updates from the Royal Mint as to the next tranche of coins they could add to this already desirable collection.
The third installment of the series released in 2018, coincided with a drastic scale back in coin production compared to previous years. The Royal Mint announced four brand new coins but finding them in your change was going to be harder than ever.
Whilst many were still on the hunt for the exceedingly elusive Puddle-Duck coin, the news broke that mintage records had been smashed for a second time by the Beatrix Potter coins.
No less than three out of the four designs from the 2018 compilation were announced to have mintage figures of less than 2 million each.  The 2018 Peter Rabbit, Flopsy Bunny and Mrs Tittlemouse were at the time, second, third and fourth respectively, behind 2009 Kew Gardens.Â
Mintage figures for general circulation
201 Peter Rabbit | 1.4 Million |
2018 Flopsy Bunny | 1.4 Million |
2018 Mrs Tittlemouse | 1.7 Million |
2018 Tailor of Gloucester | 3.9 Million |
VOTE FOR YOUR FAVOURITE 2018 COIN
2018 Peter Rabbit
2018 Mrs Tittlemouse
2018 Flopsy Bunny
2018 Tailor of Gloucester
2019-2020: The Final Release
Despite the increased lack of demand for coins in circulation, the Royal Mint recognised the ongoing popularity of the Beatrix Potter collection and released two special one-off Peter Rabbit designs in 2019 and 2020, respectively.
Unlike the previous designs, these new coins would not be released into general circulation.Â
This meant in order to complete the entire collection, collectors had to purchase the coins directly from the Royal Mint.
Whilst considered an unusual transaction at the time, it has now become common practice as the lower demand for circulated coinage has seen a drop off in commemorative coin releases for general circulation since 2019. Now most annual designs are made in BU (brilliant uncirculated) standard for sale only.
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VOTE FOR YOUR FAVOURITE
2019 Peter Rabbit
2020 Peter Rabbit
Not only is the Beatrix Potter set highly collectible and presentable it is seen by many an investment due to the rarity of several of the coins within the collection.Â
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All figures as per the Royal Mint - correct at time of writing.
Published July 2026