 Found a Paddington Bear 50p on your loose change? Wondering if it's rare or what other Paddington coins you can collect? Grab a marmalade sandwich and enjoy our quick guide to Paddington 50p's. Paddington Bear was created by British author Michael Bond with the first book published in 1958. 60 years later in 2018, the Royal Mint celebrated the first six decades of the loveable character with two 50p coins. These first Paddington 50p coins were issued on the 18th of June in 2018. Then in 2019 two further Paddington 50p's were issued, this time showing him outside the Tower of London and St Paul's Cathedral respectively. The Royal Mint have now revealed the mintage figures for these 2018 coins. Both coins were issued as circulation coins, brilliant uncirculated versions, and silver proof coins. 5,901,000 copies of the Paddington at the station 50p were put into circulation. Meanwhile, the Paddington at Buckingham Palace 50p had a mintage of 5,001,000 coins. So how rare are the 2018 Paddington Bear coins? The circulation coins are not very rare due to the mintage figure of over 5 million. In comparison, only 210,000 copies of the highly collectible 2009 Kew Gardens 50p were minted. To put it simply, the Paddington Bear 50p coins you find in a change are worth about 50p. But why not put them aside and add them to your 50p collection? So why are some Paddington coins sold for thousands on eBay? Well back in 2018, a small number of the Paddington Bear 50p coins were issued early, giving collectors the chance to get their hands on the piece before they were officially released. Some of these first coins were put up for sale on eBay, attracting interest from the national newspapers, who often report on sales of modern coins. One coin even had a price of £16,000, but don't believe the hype. The coin may not have sold for this much, and as soon as the coins were released, these early versions lost any additional value they may have had. It's often the case that newspapers report on modern coins selling for hundreds or thousands on eBay, but there's usually an explanation that means it's more of a case of sellers trying their luck rather than an actual rarity. As ever, buyer beware, know the facts before you spend your money. Now, where's that Marmalade sandwich?