A RARE 20p lying around in your spare change could actually earn you as much as £1,350.
Some of us may have rare coins hidden in wallets or down sofas and they could be worth a bit of dosh.
1
Coins with a minting error could be worth a small fortune because very few actually make it into circulation.
For this reason, they are very attractive to collectors who are sometimes willing to pay large sums in exchange for one.
One of the most rare error coins is the valuable bronze 20p, of which a few have been discovered in recent years.
Kate Morgan, a coin expert from Change Checker, told The Sun: “In 2017, a collector reported finding a 1987 20p coin which appeared to have a very different finish to the others you’d usually find in your change.”
The collector had assumed that the coin had been plated,but decided to send it off to the Royal Mint to be absolutely sure.
Kate added: “After examining the coin by X-ray fluorescence spectrometry, the Royal Mint confirmed that the bronze 20p was the result of an extremely rare minting ‘error’.
“It was ascertained that a bronze blank, which would usually be used for the production of 1p pieces, had been mistakenly used to strike this 20p.”
Since then, in 2018 another collector found a 1990 coin which he also had checked by the Royal Mint and was found to have the same bronze base.
Most read in Money
These coins are extremely rare and we could not find any examples online of how much they could go for if their seller decided to list the find on the likes of eBay.
But a 2p error coin, on a silver plate, sold for £1,350 back in 2016 so a bronze 20p could go for just as much – if not more – if the owner decided to sell it.
In the past a bronze 20p has also been valued for £750.
You can make money from these rare coins by selling them at auction, either online or in person, or through a dealer.
The price of a coin varies based on things like demand at the time and how common it is.
It’s important to remember that you aren’t guaranteed to fetch huge amounts if you do choose to sell your change.
Anyone can list a coin on eBay and charge whatever amount they wish, but it’s only ever worth what someone is willing to pay.
By checking the recently sold items you will get a more accurate indication of what people are willing to pay for a specific coin.
How to check if a coin is rare
In most cases, a coin is rare if it has a low mintage figure – which is set by the Royal Mint.
The mintage figure relates to how many of the coins were made, so the fewer there are of them, the rarer they are.
You can find out what coins are rare and how they look on the Royal Mint’s website.
Your next step after this is to see if the same coin is still available to buy in superior Brilliant Uncirculated quality from an official Royal Mint distributor, according to Change Checker.
These coins have been specially made to a superior quality which differentiates them from other coins you might find in your pocket.
It’s not just a coin’s mintage that dictates whether it’s rare though, as the bronze 20p shows.
Minting error pieces can sell for hundreds of times their face value too – because there are so few of them.
If you want to find out if your coin was made incorrectly, you can check out our list of rare coins here.
Meanwhile, you can use websites like changechecker.org which regularly posts about error coins.
How to sell a rare coin
If, after checking, you realise you’ve come across a rare coin, there are a number of ways you can sell it.
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 ruse 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 legitimate.
The safest way to sell a rare coin is more than likely at auction. You can organise this with The Royal Mint’s Collectors Service.
It has a team of experts who can help you authenticate and value your coin.
You can get in touch via email and a member of the valuation team will get back to you.
You will be charged for the service though – the cost varies depending on the size of your collection.
Meanwhile, you can sell rare coins on eBay.
But take into account that if you manage to sell your item then eBay will charge you 10% of the money you made – this includes postage and packaging.
Do you have a money problem that needs sorting? Get in touch by emailing [email protected].
You can also join our new Sun Money Facebook group to share stories and tips and engage with the consumer team and other group members.
