MUM-OF-TWO Rachel Hanson couldn’t believe a £1 coin she picked up in her spare change turned out to be worth £250.
While paying for a Chinese takeaway last month, the 38-year-old spotted an unusual-looking pound in her purse.
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It was thinner than usual, and the design on both sides of the coin had been stamped twice.
On the tail side of the coin, Rachel noticed that the crown of the Queen’s head had also been struck on there.
Little did she know that this rare error coin was worth hundreds of times its face value – and she sold it for £250.
“I was shocked someone was prepared to pay so much for a £1 coin,” she told The Sun.
“Money is a little tight, so this has really helped.”
The full-time mum from Melksham, Wiltshire, knows a thing or two about rare coins.
She’s been collecting Beatrix Potter 50ps for years to give as a keepsake to her two children, Finley, eight, and Maddison, six.
The coins, which feature different characters from the popular Peter Rabbit books, and a small collection can sell for as much as £23 on eBay.
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From her experience, she knew that the £1 error coin she had discovered in her spare change could be worth a mint too.
On Rachel’s coin, the Queen’s head was not aligned in the centre, and half of the design looked like it had “fallen off” on the right hand side.
Coins like these which have been struck twice are rare, because this minting error doesn’t happen often.
It’s pretty rare if error coins make it into circulation, which makes them very attractive to collectors.
It was only when Rachel googled how much the coin could be worth, and read a story in The Sun about one exactly like it being sold for £282, that she realised she could make a mint.
Rachel advertised her rare error coin on eBay, and also on the Error coins and oddities Facebook group.
She received an offer for £125 on eBay instantly.
But soon, a bidding war commenced, as one collector on the Facebook group, Steve Roberts, 57, from Suffolk, battled to make Rachel a better offer.
Steve, who owns a safari company, finally snatched up the coin for £250 – and told The Sun he was “thrilled” to add it to his collection.
Rachel – who lives alone and can’t work due to her condition, Rayners Disease – claims Universal Credit, and said the money was a boost to her finances.
She has a partner, but she lives alone, so has to pay the bills herself.
She’s used most of the money to pay for this month’s energy bill.
She said: “Before prices really started going up last year, my gas was between £70-£80, now it’s £180 a month. My electricity is about £150.
“Being able to pay for a big chunk of my gas bill is great, I’m now in credit.”
The Sun has spotted a number of other rare £1 error coins that have sold for a mint on eBay.
One coin, which does not have the usual silver middle and is instead completely gold-coloured, sold for £144 last month.
While another coin with a minting error which makes it look like a “fried egg” sold for £124 in November.
Do you have a rare coin in your spare change?
Rare coins and valuable notes can be worth tens of thousands of times their face value.
The most valuable coins tend to be ones with low mintage numbers or an error.
Those qualities typically make them valuable to collectors.
But other rare and valuable coins could be in your change – ones that contain small and subtle minting errors.
For example, “New Pence” 2p coins from 1983 often sell for hundreds of pounds due to a mintage mistake – they stopped being called “New Pence” in 1981.
Meanwhile, a 50p Olympic coin, which was released to celebrate the London 2012 Olympics, has a small error where the water passed directly over the swimmer’s face.
This was quickly rectified – but a small number were produced and entered circulation.
These coins have sold for up to £1,000.
Look at what your coin has recently sold for on eBay.
Experts from Change Checker recommend looking at “sold listings”.
That’s because anyone can list a coin on eBay and charge whatever amount they wish and doesn’t mean they have been sold for that amount.
By checking the recently sold items you will get a more accurate indication of what people are willing to pay for a particular coin.
How to sell a rare coin
There are lots of ways to sell your coin – you can sell it on eBay, through Facebook, or in an auction.
But be wary of the risks.
For example, there are a number of scams targeting sellers on Facebook.
Crooks will say they’re planning to buy the item, and ask for money upfront for a courier they’ll be sending around.
But it’s all a ploy to get you to send free cash to them – and they never have any intention of picking your item up.
It’s always best to meet in person when buying or selling on Facebook Marketplace.
Ensure it’s a public meeting spot that’s in a well-lit area.
Avoid payment links and log in directly through the payment method’s website.
Most sellers prefer to deal with cash directly when meeting to ensure it’s legit.
Perhaps the safest way of selling rare coins is to sell them at auction – to do this, contact The Royal Mint’s Collectors Service.
It has a team of experts who can help you authenticate and value your coin.
You’ll need to enquire via email, and a member of the valuation team will contact get back to you.
Do you have a money problem that needs sorting? Get in touch by emailing [email protected]
Take a picture of your coin and attach this to the email – you can find the details on The Royal Mint’s website.
Be aware that you will be charged for this service though – the cost will vary depending on the size of your collection.
You might choose to use eBay to sell your rare coin.
But take into account that if you manage to sell your item then eBay will charge you ten per cent of the money you made – this includes postage and packaging.
Always keep proof of postage to protect yourself from dodgy buyers who may claim they never received their item.
Send the parcel by tracked delivery if you can.
