A RARE 50p coin has sold for £185 on eBay – a whopping 370 times more than face value.
It’s no ordinary 50p coin though, and because of that buyers will often be willing to pay up to hundreds of pounds to get their hands on a copy.
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It’s called the Kew Gardens 50p, and is aptly named after the popular London attraction.
On the coin’s reverse side there’s a picture to depict the gardens, or specifically, the Chinese pagoda that stands proudly at the centre of the tourist destination that’s been open for over 250 years.
According to experts at Coin Hunter, the Kew Gardens 50p piece normally sells for between £150.89 and £161.50, meaning this version has sold above the average.
But the even better news for budding collectors, is that there are in fact thousands more in circulation, so one could easily crop up in your change despite it being so rare.
A total of 210,000 coins featuring the distinctive design were minted during its original release in 2009.
Even though it’s a whopping great number, the mintage figure is significantly lower than other rare designs in circulation.
And because of that, the 50p is actually one of the most sought after according to both The Royal Mint and Change Checker.
The particular copy managed to attract the attention of 14 bids as collectors battled it out to claim the coin for their own.
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Even more impressively, it took just one day for the virtual hammer to come down on the final sale of £185.
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.
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Other rare 50p coins to look out for include the 2012 Olympics set and each of the Beatrix Potter characters.
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.
But beware that a buyer could pull out, which means the coin won’t have sold for the price it says it has.
And always be cautious of fakes, as they’ll often show up online too.
When it comes to the rare Kew Gardens 50p, there’s a few things to look out for too, to make sure you’re not getting duped out of your hard-earned cash on a pricey listing.
A re-circulated version of the iconic coin was minted in 2019, as part of a celebration of the 50th anniversary of the 50p coin – but a much higher number of this coin was minted.
That means it is considerably less valuable to collectors than copies with a lower mintage figure.
Experts like Coin Hunter or The Royal Mint will check if your change is legitimate and worth what others are saying too.
Look out for the “frosted design” or “very high relief” which can be used on fakes – and if it’s too shiny or new looking, it might be a red flag that what you’ve picked up is a dud.
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