Winnie the Pooh, who celebrates his official day on January 18, is among the children's characters to appear on exclusive 50p coins from the Royal Mint.

The honey-loving bear's collection was completed last summer with the release of the final coin, which was a design including all of author AA Milne's furry friends who reside in the Hundred Acre Wood.

While the shape of a 50p coin, says the Royal Mint, lends itself well to unique and exclusive designs regularly snapped up by coin collectors, alongside taking inspiration from historical occasions, the Royal family and big national events like the London Olympics, children literary characters frequently feature in new releases.

Here's some of our most treasured literary characters to have found themselves on a 50p coin:

Winnie the Pooh

An entire series of 50p coins to celebrate national treasure Winnie the Pooh was released over a number of months between 2021 and 2022 much to the delight of avid fans of the character and collectors.

Marking 95 years since the treasured bear created by A.A. Milne first began his adventures, the coins range in price from £11 all the way up to £1,000 for a rare collectable piece.

Alongside individual images of the most popular characters including Eeyore, Owl and Christopher Robin was a group image which signalled the end of the historic release and that came out on collectable coins in August last year. While some pieces have sold out many of the Winnie the Pooh coins remain available to buy from the Royal Mint's website.

Harry Potter

In October last year the Royal Mint began unleashing a set of Harry Potter coins that will eventually feature both portraits of the Queen and new King.

Collectors have their wands at the ready to get their hands on the entire range, which is expected to be in high demand because of the change of portrait halfway through the release.

The set - designed to mark the 25th anniversary of Harry Potter and The Philosopher’s Stone written by J.K Rowling - began its release with the first coin featuring the boy wizard himself.

The first two coins, featuring Harry the the infamous Hogwarts Express train, carry the portrait of Her Late Majesty on the reverse and were released in two stages in 2022 and the final two coins in the series will feature the official portrait of King Charles III and will come out in 2023.

Beatrix Potter

Beatrix Potter coins are hugely popular with collectors - with one particular 50 pence piece among some of the most valuable 50p coins to remain in circulation.

Alongside a range of collectables celebrating The Tale of Peter Rabbit, which can be bought directly from the Royal Mint's online shop, have also been circulated coins featuring the author's characters which have ended up among the change in our purse.

The Flopsy Bunny coin, first issued in 2018 to celebrate one of Beatrix Potter's most loved children's tales 'The tale of Flopsy Bunny' was part of the third series of Beatrix Potter 50ps after releases in 2016 and 2017 proved to be a big hit.

The highly collectable Peter Rabbit series also made the Royal Mint's top 10 list of rare 50p pieces with the designs that feature Flopsy Bunny and Peter himself. These 50p coins are popular selling items, with some available on the internet for between £10 and £30, depending on their condition.

The Snowman and the Snowdog

The Snowmman and The Snowdog was first released in December 2012 and to mark the short British film's tenth birthday the Royal Mint released an entire collection dedicated to the Raymond Briggs character and his new companion in 2022.

The coins, which feature an original design by Robin Shaw who worked as a producer on The Snowman and The Snowdog, also carry the Queen's effigy which the Royal Mint said was part of the King's ambitions for a 'sustainable transition' that meant coins already struck featuring his late mother were not wasted.

Mr Men, Little Miss and Alice in Wonderland

While many of our favourite children's characters have found themselves on exclusive 50 pence pieces, uncirculated £5 coins have also been chosen for commemorative releases.

In 2021 an entire collection celebrated 50 years of the Mr Men and Little Miss books written by creator Roger Hargreaves with all three coin designs created exclusively by his son Adam. While Alice in Wonderland has also been chosen for a series of £5 coins. These were released in 2021 and while some items in the collection have sold out or are no longer available, many of the coins remain available to buy from the Royal Mint.