Be Prepared 50p

 

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Prepared
  1. This first 50p coin was the equivalent to the ten shilling note. 188,400,000 coins were issued for circulation in 1969 - and we have a huge sack of them in one of our storage room. 1969 Fifty Pence - The First Decimal Fifty Pence to be Released. Fifty Pence Specifications 1969 - 1997 Large Version. 1973 European Economic Community Fifty Pence.
  2. One seller is asking for £3,500 for one of the coins on eBay. A spokesperson from ChangeChecker said: “One coin which has seemed to unite favourable public opinion is the WWF 50p issued in 2011.
  3. 50p Coin - (2007) Be Prepared 100th Anniversary Boy Scouts - Good Circulated.

Scouting 'Be Prepared' 50p Coin Rare 50p coin issued in 2007 to commemorate the 100th Anniversary of the Scouts. Message me for offers or trades please! £2.50 postage no matter how many coins you want. Covers parcel and signed for delivery. The Be Prepared 50p, also known by collectors as the “Scouts 50p” was minted 7.71 million times in 2007, a larger quantity than other coins such as the 2009 Kew Gardens (210,000) or many of the Olympic 50p coins (1-2m in circulation).

Two different 50p coins were issued in 2007. The standard Britannia design and a commemorative coin to mark the centenary of the Scout movement.

The Standard Design:

Obverse Type 4 (bust design by Ian Rank-Broadley):

Reverse Type 3 (design by Christopher Ironside):

Mintage for Circulation: 24,567,000.

Collectability/Scarcity: 1 (for scale details see here)

The story behind the design:

The obverse portrait of the Queen by Ian Rank-Broadley was used on all UK coinage from 1998 to 2014 and also on some coins dated 2015. It was the fourth portrait of the Queen used on coinage.

The reverse design, by Christopher Ironside, shows Briannia seated. Britannia had appeared on at least one British coin denomination since the 1670s, and in fact long before that there were Roman coins showing the word ‘BRITANNIA’ and the helmeted female representation of Britannia to celebrate the Roman capture of Britain.

Commemorative 50p coin, Type 12:

Be prepared pdf

Obverse Type 4 (bust design by Ian Rank-Broadley):

Reverse Type (design by Kerry Jones):

Mintage for Circulation: 7,710,750.

Collectability/Scarcity: 1 (for scale details see here)

The story behind the design:

The obverse portrait of the Queen by Ian Rank-Broadley was used on all UK coinage from 1998 to 2014 and also on some coins dated 2015. It was the fourth portrait of the Queen used on coinage.

The reverse design, by Kerry Jones shows the Scout badge, the motto ‘Be prepared’ and the dates 1907 and 2007. The Scout movement was established in 1907 to support boys’ physical, mental and spiritual development:

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Upon hearing the Scout motto, someone asked Scouting founder Robert Baden-Powell the inevitable follow-up question.

“Prepared for what?”

“Why, for any old thing,” he replied.

In 1907, Baden-Powell, an English soldier, devised the Scout motto: Be Prepared. He published it in Scouting for Boys in 1908. (Two years later, in 1910, the Boy Scouts of America was founded.)

In Scouting for Boys, Baden-Powell wrote that to Be Prepared means “you are always in a state of readiness in mind and body to do your duty.”

More than a century later, preparedness is still a cornerstone of Scouting. Through its fun, values-based program, Scouting prepares young people for life.

B-P and B.P.

Notice how the initials for Be Prepared and Baden-Powell are the same? That’s no coincidence; it’s just the way Baden-Powell planned it.

In the late 1900s, Baden-Powell wanted young people equipped to react quickly to an emergency. The Great War loomed, and soon the Boy Scouts — not a military organization but a service-minded one — would be called upon to play their part.

“Their keen eyes were added to the watchers along the coasts,” Winston Churchill wrote in a piece published in Scouting magazine in 1955. “In the air raids we saw the spectacle of children of 12 and 14 performing with perfect coolness and composure the useful function assigned to them in the streets and public offices.”

But Baden-Powell wasn’t just thinking about first aid and wartime emergencies when he coined the motto. This is from the 13th/latest edition of the Boy Scout Handbook:

Pdf

His idea was that Scouts should prepare themselves to become productive citizens and strong leaders and to bring joy to other people. He wanted each Scout to be ready in mind and body and to meet with a strong heart whatever challenges await him.

Siempre Listo

Be Prepared 50p

Pete

As Scouting has spread to include 164 National Scout Organizations around the world, the motto has been adapted and translated into dozens of languages.

50p

French-speaking Scouts strive to be Toujours Prêt, “always ready.” That’s also the English translation of the motto used in many Spanish-speaking countries: Siempre Listo.

Be Prepared becomes Budi Pripravan in Croatian, Sii Preparato in Italian and Wees Geréed in Afrikaans, spoken in South Africa and Namibia.

In any language, Baden-Powell’s original intent survives. By spending time as Scouts, young people learn to handle anything life puts in front of them. They learn to Be Prepared.

Two powerful words

Be Prepared 50 Pence Coin

Need one more reminder of the importance of the Scout motto? Consider the Eagle Scout medal, which represents the highest honor in Scouting.

Notice that the medal includes just two words.