A gold proof Kew Gardens 50p has this afternoon sold for £6,800 at the Royal Mint’s online auction of 343 coins which has been over the past week and a half.
The ultra rare version of the sought-after Kew Gardens 50p was estimated to fetch between £5,000 and £6,000 and the starting bid for the coin attracted £4,000.
The much-fabled Kew Gardens 50p is one of the rarest circulating coins in existence due to its scarcity in circulation and as a commemorative coin.
With just 210,000 minted in 2009, these coins can sell north of £150 and as such, the majority have been hoovered out of circulation and are in the hands of collectors. The coin ranks number one on Change Checker’s 50p scarcity index.
Going, going, gone!: The sought after gold proof coin fetched £6800 at an auction of Royal Mint coins, an increase of 1260% since 2009
But there were just 629 gold proof versions of the Kew Gardens 50p coin bought by the public of 1000 that were minted.
When the gold proof version of the coin was first minted in 2009, collectors could buy it from the Royal Mint for £550 – a return of 1260 per cent.
To show how fast the value of these gold proof coins has grown, a similar auction five years ago saw one sold for £2,000 – meaning it has shot up in value 240 per cent since.
The coin features a design by Christopher Le Brun on the obverse celebrating the Royal Botanical Gardena, depicting the pagoda at Kew with a decorative vine twining in and around the tower and with the years ‘1759’ and 2002′ either side of the word ‘Kew’.
This coin was first released in 2009 to celebrate 250 years of the iconic West London landmark. It is being sold at auction in the original case of issue.
The 50p was then released again in a second batch in 2019. These are less valuable but still sell for up to £80.
Here are some of the other coins that went under the hammer at the Royal Mint’s online auction.
Queen’s Beasts one kilo gold proof
Only 16 of these coins were created by the Royal Mint and the one being auctioned is estimated to sell for £80,000 to £90,000.
The starting bid for this coin at the Royal Mint’s online auction was £69,000.
Platinum Jubilee one kilo gold proof
The Queen’s Platinum Jubilee one kilo gold proof coin is estimated to fetch between £60,000 and £70,000.
The coin features a portrait of Queen Elizabeth II by Jody Clark on the obverse and on the reverse there are symbols of the four nations and decorative scrolls which surround Her Majesty’s crowned cypher at centre position.
2019 brilliant uncirculated five sovereign piece
This unassuming 2019 five-sovereign piece struck to Brilliant Uncirculated standard with a Matt finish is estimated to fetch £2,000 to £3,000.
2010 £2 Florence Nightingale gold proof
The 2010 £2 Florence Nightingale coin is on Change Checker’s £2 scarcity index – and the gold proof version is set to sell for £900 to £1,100 at the Royal Mint’s auction.
It sold today for £750.
