RARE coins might go unnoticed in your change, but keep a watchful eye out and you could earn as much as £400 from the most valuable.
The coins that will earn you the most are usually the ones with the lowest mintage figures.
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A low mintage figure means the coin is rare, and not many have been produced.
Avid coin collectors can look to The Royal Mint for the most accurate mintage figures for every type of coin in circulation.
The figures were last updated in September, but everything from pennies to £2 coins are ranked.
We’ve narrowed down the top ten that you could come across in your own change – and if you do manage to snaffle any away, you could make a mint selling them on eBay.
You can compare other rare coins on the online auction site to get an idea of how much they can be worth.
But sometimes bidders are willing to pay hundreds of pounds.
RARE COINS AND VALUABLE NOTES
Tools from change experts like Coin Hunter and even The Royal Mint itself can help verify your change too.
But be careful of fake coins that may be in circulation – these won’t be worth as much.
You also have 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.
Here are the top ten rarest coins in circulation:
1. Great British Coin Hunt Z 10p – worth £22.50
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Royal Mint released this coin as part of the full alphabet 10p collection.
This coin in particular celebrates James Callaghan’s iconic black and white pedestrian crossing, to symbolise the Z letter also featured on the design.
The coin, along with the other 25 in the collection, was minted in 2019 – but for the letter Z there were only 63,000 produced.
That makes it the rarest of all the letter 10ps as well as the rarest coin in circulation overall.
Because it’s so rare, bidders were willing to spend almost £100 to get their hands on it, with one of the coins sold for £22.50 in January this year on eBay.
But complete the full alphabet of the coins like one seller had, and you could make a whopping £185 instead, so it can pay to be patient.
2. Single Market 50p – worth £70
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Now considered a retro piece, this 50p coin is a lot older than others in The Royal Mint’s top ten, as it was minted in 1992.
Only 109,000 were produced so it’s the second rarest in circulation right now.
Bidders are willing to spend a pretty penny on it too, as we found one on eBay that sold for £70 at the start of the year.
Collectors are also keen on the coin’s “double dated” design with “1992” and “1993” both featuring in the production.
3. Kew Gardens 50p – worth £400
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The 50p Kew Gardens coin features the Chinese Pagoda at the famous London landmark of the same name and makes it into the top three of the rarest coins out there as there are so few of them.
Just 210,000 were released into circulation in 2009.
It’s also one of the most valuable due to it’s recognisable design and low mintage, with top offers for copies found in people’s change go for as much as £400.
The coin is no stranger to a high bid though, as at The Sun we’ve previously spotted the Kew Gardens 50p selling for as much as £707.
This listing isn’t around anymore but it does give you an indication of just how popular the rare coin can be.
4. Commonwealth Games Ireland £2 – worth £53
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In 2002, four different designs of this £2 coin were created to commemorate the Commonwealth games, but the Irish version is the rarest with only 485,500 minted.
As it’s so rare, the coin can be worth as much as £53 – the price one bidder paid on eBay back in December.
That made it worth nearly 27 times its face value of £2.
There’s more money in the complete set though, as one seller proved when they sold all four coins for a whopping £189.99.
5. Commonwealth Games Wales £2 – worth £80
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Just over 100,000 more copies of the second rarest Commonwealth £2 coins were made, with 588,500 minted.
The Commonwealth Games Wales £2 was also minted in 2002, this time the only difference is the little Welsh flag marked on the design.
And surprisingly, one listing managed to fetch more than its rarer Irish counterpart.
It sold for £80 – a whopping 40 times more than face value – but only one bid was placed so there’s no guaranteeing the sale was the real deal.
6. Britannia 5th Portrait £2 – worth £11.50
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The Britannia design was minted in 2015 with 650,000 in circulation.
In 2008, the portrait design was dropped from the 50p but made a reappearance on the sparse collection of £2 coins.
Looking at recent eBay listings though, it isn’t one of the most favoured rare designs.
The most we spotted one of the coins selling for was £11.50 – and that was for an uncirculated version.
One you might spot in your change might instead go for a lower £8.50 or even less though.
7. FWW Navy 5th Portrait £2 – worth £14.25
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Another commemorative coin was released in 2015, as 650,000 of the First World War Navy £2s were minted.
The coin features a battleship design by military artist David Rowlands and the 5th portrait of the Queen.
It’s also the second in a five-coin series remembering the First World War and celebrates the efforts of the Royal Navy and their contribution to the war effort.
Collectors are willing to pay as much as £14.50 for the coin on eBay, though.
8. Commonwealth Games England £2 – worth £35
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Another in the 2002 Commonwealth series, the English version is the eighth rarest.
Some 650,500 were minted at the time, making the coin rare enough for eBay bidders to happily pay as much as £35 for it.
The edge of this coin also has the inscription “Spirit of Friendship, Manchester 2002”, which adds appeal to collectors too.
9. Britannia 50p – worth £12.27
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In 1985 the Royal Mint released a Limited Issue Britannia 50p coin.
Only 682,103 were made so collectors are still keen to get their hands on a copy as the old coin is so rare.
The reverse design is a seated figure of Britannia by Christopher Ironside and the obverse design is a portrait of Elizabeth II by Raphael Maklouf.
The coin itself is a bit larger than some of the more modern change you might have in your pocket, but you’d have to part with around £12.27 to own your own copy now.
10. Commonwealth Games Scotland £2 – worth £18.50
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Out of all of the valuable Commonwealth coins, Scotland’s take is the least rare.
The coin has a mintage of 771,750 – some 286,250 more than were released of the rarest Irish version.
It features pretty much the same design as the other coins in the series but the Scottish flag is on the design instead.
Bidders on eBay have still paid higher than face value for the coin though, with a recent auction on the site concluding on £18.50.
There are plenty of other rare coins that haven’t made the top ten cut of course – often they’ll commemorate an event, like the Girl Guiding 50p, released 100 years after the organisation was set up.
Beatrix Potter’s furry creations are always popular too – there are rare 50p designs with Peter Rabbit on and Flopsy Bunny as well.
Plus coins with errors are also produced with low mintage figures, and they’ll often sell well above face value.
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