Brits are being urged to check their change for a rare 50p coin after one sold for more than 400 times its face value at auction this month.
The coin, a Kew Gardens 250th anniversary coin, sold for £210 on eBay after inspiring a mini-bidding war.
It is one of the Royal Mint’s rarest and most valuable coins, with just 210,000 copies entering circulation when it was released in 2009.
As a result, it is one of the most sought-after coins by collectors in the UK.
The coin features the Chinese Pagoda at the Royal Botanic Gardens on the tails side and a portrait of the Queen.
After being listed on online auction site eBay, the 50p coin attracted 30 bids before selling for £210.
Rarest 50p coins in circulation the UK?
The rarest is the Kew’s Garden 50p, which was designed to mark the 250th anniversary of the gardens in 2009. Only 210,000 coins were ever minted with this design.
The Kew Gardens 50p sells for £156.25 on average, but one seller received over £700 for one when they sold it on eBay.
The other rarest coins stem predominantly from the 2011 Olympics, with the wrestling, football and judo coins among the most valuable. Only 1.1million of each of these coins were produced.
Flopsy bunny and Peter Rabbit designs which were produced in 2018 are also highly valuable.
These coins - 1.4 million of which were minted - depict the characters from Beatrix Potter’s novels and celebrate the life of the English writer and these sell for around £5.
In 2019, 500 million coins were produced, with three new 50p designs.
These included one of Arthur Conan Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes, Paddington Bear at St Paul's Cathedral and the Tower of London.
Top 10 most valuable 50p coins, according to Royal Mint
Here is a list of the top 10 most valuable coins, when they were made and how many were minted:
- Kew Gardens (2009), 210,000
- Olympic Wrestling (2011), 1,129,500
- Olympic Football (2011), 1,161,500
- Olympic Judo (2011), 1,161,500
- Olympic Triathlon (2011), 1,163,500
- Peter Rabbit (2018), 1,400,000
- Flopsy Bunny (2018), 1,400,000
- Olympic Tennis (2011), 1,454,000
- Olympic Goalball (2011), 1,615,500
- Olympic Shooting (2011), 1,656,500
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here