IT’S time to check the loose change in your wallet and in your pockets, because you could be sitting on a small fortune.
Coin collecting site Change Checker has released its most recent eBay tracker, which tracks some of the UK‘s most sought after coins.
11
It follows the prices ofcoins based on eBay sales and uses the median sold price to create a tracker.
The most recent tracker shows the demand for coins in June.
Certain rare coins can be worth thousands of times their face value.
Rachel Hooper from Change Checker said: “From the first 50p featuring King Charles III, to the AA01 £5 Banknote, to the rarest 50p in circulation, some of these issues are selling for almost 250 times their face value.”
If a coin has a low mintage figure, known as the number of coins produced, it typically means it’s rare.
This is also usually the gold standard for indicating whether or not your change is worth more than face value.
But the design of the coin, its condition and whether or not the coin is in circulation also affects how much it could be worth.
Of course, a coin is only worth what someone will pay for it so there’s no guarantee that yours will make you a mint, yet it could be worth a try.
Most read in Money
Below are the top ten UK coins and banknotes around right now, according to ChangeChecker – and you could make up to £388.
Kew Gardens 50p – £148
11
Kew Gardens is best-known for its beautiful gardens and scenery.
A 50p coin was released into circulation in 2009 that recognised the British landmark.
It features the site’s iconic Chinese Pagoda and displays the years 1759 and 2009.
The Royal Mint launched the coin to mark 250 years since the gardens opened.
It was a limited edition release, making it a rare coin that could be worth a lot of money if it pops up in your spare change.
ChangeChecker says the coin was sold for an average £148 on eBay in June.
While this was down £19 from January, it’s still the most valuable coin in the list.
Undated 20p – £52
11
In November 2008 a number of 20p coins were minted incorrectly, and it meant they entered circulation with one glaring fault on the design.
That mistake resulted in the coins being undated.
Less than 250,000 coins will have been affected.
But 136 million 20p pieces were minted around the same time frame, so that means coming across one of these rare error versions could be a once in a blue moon chance to get quids-in.
The coin sold for an average of £52 in June, making it the second-most valuable coin on the tracker.
While this is down £23 on January, it’s still a huge increase on the coin’s face value.
And their price could go up again in the future.
The 92/93 EEC 50p – £40
11
The 92/93 EEC 50ps were released by the Royal Mint between 1992 and 1993.
They were to celebrate the British presidency of the council of Europe, and only 109,000 were ever made.
According to the tracker, you’d be likely to get around £40 if you looked to sell it on – a fall of 50p since January.
2002 Commonwealth Games Northern Ireland – £40
11
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.
On average, they can fetch around £40 on eBay – a fall of £28 from January.
Sir Isaac Newton 50p – £37
11
The Sir Isaac Newton 50p was first issued in 2017 to mark the 375th anniversary of the famous scientist’s birth.
But other 2018 versions came to be too, when the minting power was handed over to the public.
The catch with this coin for some time, was that the only place you were officially able to get it was at The Royal Mint Experience where you’d get to strike your own.
That’s in Llantrisant, Wales though – which is some trek for most of the country.
But lucky for those who didn’t fancy travelling so far for a new coin, copies quickly popped up on eBay over time as collectors traded and sold their own versions.
The coin passes as legal tender too so now that a few years have passed, it would be easy for one to pop up in your own change.
The coin now goes for an average of £37 on eBay, down from £50 in January.
AAO1 polymer £10 banknote – £20
11
If you come across a £10 note with an AA serial number, you might just be able to bag some big money.
Serial numbers for each note are key – you can find these numbers on the top left of the face with the Queen’s image.
This is just under the £10 value in the corner of the note.
These are currently selling for an average of £20 on eBay now, compared to £25 in January.
AAO1 polymer £5 banknote – £19.50
11
Serial numbers on notes can make them special and unique – like with this fiver.
The first note – with a AA01 000001 number was presented to The Queen leaving up to only 999,998 other fivers with the AA01 prefix.
It’s the fact that it’s the first range printed in the series which makes it more appealing to collectors.
In some cases fivers with the low serial number have been sold for thousands of pounds online, with one dad of three making more than £1,000 from his mini collection.
On average, they can fetch around £19.50 on eBay – a decrease of £10.50 from the beginning of the year.
Olympic football 50p – £14.50
The Royal Mint unveiled 29 new coins in 2011 to commemorate the 2012 London Olympics.
The rarest coin out of all the Olympic coins is the football coin.
The coin features the hotly debated offside rule in the form of a simple diagram and just 1,125,000 were put into circulation.
This coin is the only one to have increased in value since January, rising by 50p to £14.50.
Jemima Puddle-Duck 50p – £10.50
11
Jemima Puddle-Duck, the classic Beatrix Potter character, appears on this sought-after 50p coin.
The coin was issued in 2016 to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the popular character featured in Beatrix Potter’s children’s story: “The tale of Jemima Puddle-duck.”
The first UK coin to feature Jemima Puddle-duck, it is part of a series of Beatrix Potter 50ps alongside iconic characters such as Peter Rabbit, Squirrel Nutkin and Mrs. Tiggy-Winkle.
There were 2,100,000 Jemima Puddle-duck 50p coins minted.
On average, they can fetch around £10.50 on eBay – a decrease of 50p from the beginning of the year.
Britannia 5th Portrait £2 – £4.50
11
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 £25.01 and one recently sold for £17.
They sold for an average of £4.50 in June, a fall of £5.50 since January.
Queen Elizabeth II Memorial 50p with King Charles III obverse – £2
11
To commemorate the life of the Queen, The Royal Mint released a new 50p coin into circulation last year.
The coin features the brand new-portrait of King Charles III, which was seen for the first time in October.
While the Queen doesn’t feature on the coin explicitly, there is a tribute to Her late Majesty on the reverse.
The 50p features the design that originally appeared on coins to commemorate her coronation at Westminster Abbey in 1953.
Change Checker’s tracker found that these coins are now going for an average of £2 on eBay, down from £2.50 in January.
While this may seem like a relatively small amount, it is a big increase in its face value.
How do I check if my coin is rare?
Rare coins and valuable notes can be worth tens of thousands of times their face value.
But sometimes it’s just tiny differences which make them so lucrative.
The most valuable coins tend to be ones with low mintage numbers or an error.
Those qualities typically make them valuable to collectors.
Your next step would be to check if your coin is still available to purchase in superior Brilliant Uncirculated quality from an official Royal Mint distributor, according to Change Checker.
Certified Brilliant Uncirculated coins have been specially struck to a superior unblemished quality which set them apart from the coins you may find in pockets.
Selling a coin at auction or through a dealer
There are many different factors to consider when trying to value a coin, including its condition and mintage, so it’s important to do your homework first.
If you’ve got a coin that you would like to sell at auction, you can contact The Royal Mint’s Collectors Service.
It has a team of experts who can help you to authenticate and value your coin.
You’ll need to enquire via email, and a member of the valuation team will contact get back to you.
Take a picture of your coin and attach this to the email – you can find the details on The Royal Mint’s website.
Be aware that you will be charged for this service though – the cost will vary depending on the size of your collection.
If you are looking to buy a coin online through a marketplace such as eBay, it’s important to know exactly what you are purchasing.
This is because anyone can list a coin on eBay and charge whatever amount they wish.
You should also be wary of fakes online – and keep in mind that on eBay a buyer could pull out, which means the coin won’t have sold for the price it says it has.
Meanwhile, we have put together a guide on the rarest and most valuable coins.
We also tell you what you should do if you find a lucky penny in your pocket.
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.
