WW1 £2 error coin worth £500 – how to spot one

A RARE £2 with a minting error could be worth £500.

The 2014 First World War Centenary £2 coin has an error that means the words “Two Pounds” are missing from the design.

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So far, expert Coin Hunter says only two like this have been identified which is why they could fetch such a high price for the uncommon error.

The first of the coins so far discovered sold at auction in March this year, 225 times higher than its face value, so finding one in your change could mean you’re quids-in.

The other was discovered and shared on Coin Hunter’s Facebook page.

This £2 design was released seven years ago to mark 100 years since the outbreak of the First World War.

It features an image of Lord Kitchener who was a prominent figure on British government propaganda campaigns during the time.

There are 5,720,000 of the correct £2 coins in circulation, but it’s unclear just how many of the error versions are out there.

We’ve seen before that commemorative event coins can fetch hundreds of pounds, with some selling for up to £337 on sites like eBay.

If you check any coins you might have in your wallet that feature Lord Kitchener, and the heads side doesn’t read “Two Pounds” at the bottom then you’ll know you have one of the rare copies.

There could be an easy explanation for the error though, as the faulty side of the coin is the same design that was used on the Trinity House £2 coin, also produced in 2014.

So experts suggest that during a change in production between the coins, a mistake meant the die that strikes the heads side of the coin was not changed, meaning a few of the War copies will have been printed wrong.

It’s easy for a coin like this one to make its way into your spare change, and if you do find one it could be worth fishing out to try listing on a site like eBay.

If you do go to sell on the coin, you can ask the Royal Mint to take a look and see if it’s real.

Online tools from change experts like Coin Hunter are helpful to see how much it could be worth too.

Avid coin hunters spot rare error coins on eBay all the time and sometimes they can fetch even more than the £200 this coin could be worth.

A rare Olympic 50p error coin sold for £360 on eBay recently for example.

Plus a rare error £1 coin sold for £410 on eBay in June this year too.

But experts, warn of coming across fakes, so be careful if you make a purchase and be wary of splashing out on something that’s not been verified.

The coin that sold for £500 was authenticated by the Royal Mint Museum, with accompanying letters, so the high value is a good reflection of the coin’s worth in this case.

You can compare other rare coins on eBay to see how much they have sold for as reference, and check you’re not overpaying for a rare error coin.

The number of bids on a listing can help you establish that the coin is the real deal, and something worth bidding on if you’re in the market for rare coins yourself.

Because this £2 error coin is so rare though, there are none that have sold on the site as of yet.

Buyers can sometimes pull out as well, which makes it harder to verify if coins have sold for the value they say they have, so it’s worth keeping in mind when you spot the high sellers.

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This post first appeared on thesun.co.uk