A RARE coin has sold for 360 times more than its face value of 50p on eBay this Christmas period.
The coin sold on December 23, just days before the festive holiday.
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It’s typically a time when many Brits would be pinching their own pennies – but the design was so special that one bidder just had to get their hands on it, no matter the price.
A bidding war broke out and over the 10 days it was live, as many as 23 offers were placed on the coin.
It’s not the most we’ve seen a coin similar to this go for though, another went for £190 in the same month, and one went for £185 days before that too.
Impressively, this latest listing started off at 50p, which is what you would get for the coin under any other circumstance.
It reached the hundreds with less than 48 hours to go before the final sale call though, as the value rocketed immensely.
But why is it rare?
It’s no ordinary 50p coin, and because of that buyers will often be willing to pay up to hundreds of pounds to get their hands on a copy.
RARE COINS AND VALUABLE NOTES
It’s all because of the coin’s unique design.
It’s called the Kew Gardens 50p, and aptly named after the popular London attraction.
On the coin’s reverse side there’s a picture to depict the gardens, specifically, the Chinese pagoda that stands proudly at the centre of the tourist destination that’s been open for over 250 years.
The 50p is actually one of the most sought after according to both The Royal Mint and Change Checker.
When the 50 pence piece was released in 2009, only 210,000 were minted – a fraction compared to more common 50ps.
How to spot one in your change
It’s always worthing having a rifle through your spare change to see if you have any rarities of your own to boast.
If you find one you could make a lot of money from it on eBay.
The Kew Gardens coin is a commemorative piece, and ones like it will resell on eBay for a lot more than their face value too.
It’s usually because, like the Kew Gardens 50p, they are produced in low numbers so demand from collectors is high.
Other rare 50p coins to look out for include the 2012 Olympics set that each depict various sporting events from the world-renowned games.
A good way to check if you’re in the money is by taking a look at other listings on the site.
You can check if something’s the real deal by looking at how many people have been willing to bid for it in the past – and how much they’ve driven the price up by too.
Rare error coins usually sell for a lot too despite being manufactured wrong in some way or another.
Always be cautious of fakes though, as they’ll often show up online.
Experts like Coin Hunter or The Royal Mint will check if your change is legitimate and worth what others are saying too.
But you should also always keep in mind that on eBay a buyer could pull out, which means the coin won’t have sold for the price it says it has.
Rare coins and valuable notes – is yours worth a mint?
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