MILLIONS collect coins for fun, but even the smallest change in your pocket could reap a large profit.
Reportedly more than half of British collectors get into the hobby of collecting coins after finding an unusual copy in their change.
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It’s typically these unusual versions that are the rarest and most valuable.
Sometimes that’s because they have an uncommon design or they’re just really old and not even accepted as regular tender anymore.
Plus rare coins with errors can also be worth hundreds time more than their face value.
The nature of the production mistake means they’ll likely have been produced in low numbers too.
There are a few error 5ps knocking around so it wouldn’t be impossible for one of these to crop up in your change as well as any other uncommon 5ps.
Instead of disregarding the coin for its low face value, you could try selling it on, at auction on eBay – other sellers have managed to bag sales of more than £60 and £70 which is over 1,200 times the 5p’s face value.
Compare other rare coins on eBay to see how much they have sold for if you’re looking to sell on your own.
Remember, if you’re selling on eBay then you need to keep in mind that a buyer could have pulled out after the auction ended, meaning the coin won’t actually have sold for the price that it says it has.
You can get The Royal Mint to verify any coins you come across too, which can help to reassure a buyer that they’re paying for the real deal when you come to sell it – and it could push up the price too.
But you should always be wary of fake coins that may be in circulation too.
Before you get started making a fortune on your own 5p collection, take a look at some of the rarest and most valuable 5ps according to The Royal Mint and the lucky few who have scored big money for copies on eBay.
The full list of rarest 5ps can be found in The Royal Mint’s latest scarcity update though.
1979 error coin – worth £73
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The 1979 5p is one of the many older versions of the coin.
It’s actually referred to as the “new five pence”, though sadly they don’t exist as actual money anymore.
But an error version of the coins sees it struck twice on the same side.
You can make out both the young bust of Queen Elizabeth II and the thistle design that’s usually seen on the obverse, together.
155,456,000 were struck of original 1979 coin, but we’re not certain of how many or the error coins are knocking about.
One collector who came across a copy though, sold it for £73 on eBay making a return 1460 times more than the 5ps face value.
2008 error coin – worth £65
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The regular 2008 ironside 5p has a mintage figure of 92,880,000, which makes it attractive to collectors.
That’s because it’s a much lower figure than the dent 5p which had a mintage of 165,172,000 and was also produced in the same year.
It’s also the most common design we see on 5ps now, so getting your hands on the other copy from 2008 is much more sought after.
But it’s also been noted that an error version exists too, which shows the Queen’s head to be upside down on the design.
One eBay seller who had their own copy of the error version managed to bag £65 for it.
1969 error coin – worth £27
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5ps as we know them only started to be produced in 1968, so finding a copy from this early on is sure to get you quids-in.
The 1968-1981 5ps featured the “five new pence” design which had an image of a younger looking Queen Elizabeth II as well as the coins being visually larger too.
A copy of the retro coin was sold on eBay for £27 though as the design had been struck off centre.
That’s 540 times its face value, so not only is the coin old, but worth a lot more than the five pence you would have got it for at the time.
1977
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The 1977 5p is the rarest according to The Royal Mint‘s latest scarcity update.
Only 24,308,000 of these late 70s debuts were minted, meaning a smaller chance for collectors to get their hands on a copy.
That makes it far more attractive in avid coin hunters’ eyes as the coin is more scarce.
Because the coin is so scarce though, there aren’t any listings on eBay so we don’t know how much it could be worth to collectors.
Coins issued in 1977 circulated for 13 years before being demonetised in 1990 though.
After demonetisation a coin is no longer legal tender so it can’t be accepted even at face value.
That also means you can’t cash it in at the bank, but you could instead try getting it valued with The Royal Mint if you do plan on reselling to make a profit.
1987 – worth up to £10
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Only 48,220,000 of these coins in this year were minted, making it the second rarest known.
But also in that year the Government announced its intention to issue a smaller 5p coin so this style was one of the last around in the larger shape.
It’s hard to uncover how much the coins go for online, but a number of error copies have been sold on eBay for nearly £10.
The error copies have been clipped twice which makes it look like part of the metal of the coin has been snapped off.
Though the coin looks a little busted up, it actually makes the coin more valuable to collectors as an error coin.
Other coins from the same era, like one 1883 version we found, have sold for around £2 though so the prices of these older 5ps can be volatile.
1993 – worth £10
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From 1990 to 1998 5ps featured the newer “five pence” design which was smaller than those produced before hand.
These copies were 18mm diameter compared to the 24mm diameter of the older versions.
But to tell the truth, no five pence coins were actually issued for circulation in 1993.
Some were struck for the Royal Mint coins sets of the year – as 56,945 were released in brilliant uncirculated sets and 43,509 in proof sets, still making them a low released figure overall.
Because they are rarer therefore, collectors are more willing to snap them up – like one bidder who claimed a copy from 1993 for £10 on eBay.
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