MAUNDY money is handed out to pensioners by the monarch every Easter to mark the sacred celebration.
It’s a Christian tradition that dates right back to 1670, and the coins could be worth hundreds.
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Today is Maundy Thursday, which saw King Charles hand out coins at York Minster to the elderly following a church service.
They’re specially minted silver coins distributed at the Royal Maundy service held each year at a different cathedral, abbey or royal chapel.
Recipients are chosen for their service to the church in their local area.
The amount of people who receive the coins depends on the sovereign’s age – so this year the coins were handed out to 74 men and 74 women in honour of The King.
Last year, 92 men and 92 women received the coins in honour of The Queen.
What is Maundy money?
Maundy money has remained more or less the same since 1670 when Charles II began handing out stamped sterling silver coins.
The coins are a four penny, three penny, two penny and one penny piece.
After decimalisation in 1971, the face values of the coins were updated to new pence instead of old pence.
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But while the portrait on modern money updates with every new monarch, Maundy money still bears the original portrait by Mary Gillick used on the first coins issued in the year of her coronation in 1953.
After the Royal Maundy service, the King will hand two leather purses to each pensioner containing symbolic alms instead of the clothing and food given in the past.
A red purse contains a small gift of ordinary coins totalling £5.50: £3 in lieu of clothing, £1.50 in place of food and £1 representing money for redemption of the monarch’s gown.
Recently that has taken the form of a £5 coin and a 50p.
A white purse contains 74p in silver Maundy coins, amounting to the same number of pence as the years of the sovereign’s age including the one he is now living.
How much could it be worth?
Maundy coins are specially minted for the occasion and are legal tender, but most recipients keep them and they are highly collectable.
You can actually buy boxes from the Royal Mint website for £400 or more, or sellers might take to eBay to find buyers.
In March, a Charles II maundy money coin set sold for £422 after racking up 11 bids.
While another coin set sold for £263 in February after getting 10 bids.
There are a few things to keep in mind when buying off eBay.
Always keep an eye out for fake coins, plus bear in mind a buyer might have pulled out after an auction has ended, meaning the coin won’t actually have sold for the price it says it did.
Look at how many bids it has as well – it is suspicious if there are only one or two, for instance.
But most importantly if something seems off, it probably is, so don’t go through with anything you’re unsure of.
It’s better to be safe rather than sorry.
How to check if your small change is worth anything
If you think that you might have a rare coin then you might be able to make a real mint.
The most valuable coins are usually those with a low mintage or an error. These are often deemed the most valuable by collectors.
You can check how much the coin is selling for on eBay, by searching the full name of the coin, selecting the “sold” listing and then toggle the search to “highest value”.
It will give you an idea of the amount of money that the coin is going for.
But it’s not always the case that a coin has sold for the amount is was listed for.
Coins are really only worth what someone else is willing to pay for them.
Sometimes collectors are willing to pay more for a coin if they need it to collect a set.
You can either choose to sell the coin on eBay or through a specialist like ChangeChecker.org.
If you choose the auction website then remember to set a minimum price that is higher or at the very least equal to the face value of the coin.
Even if your coin “sells” on eBay for a high price there’s no guarantee that the buyer will cough up.
In its terms and conditions, the auction website states that bidders enter a “legally binding contract to purchase an item”, but there’s no way to enforce this rule in reality.
The most eBay can do is add a note to their account for the unpaid item or remove their ability to bid and buy.
