ONE of the UK’s rarest 50p coins has sold for over 200 times its face value.
The Kew Gardens piece fetched £107 in a recent auction on eBay, receiving a total of 15 bids.
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The coin, which comes with a 2009 date on the tails side, when it was first struck, is classed as one of the rarest 50ps in general circulation.
Just 210,000 were minted at the end of the noughties.
The piece features the late Queen Elizabeth’s profile on the heads side and the Chinese Pagoda found in Kew Gardens on the other side.
There is also a 2019-dated coin of the same design, but the 2009 version is classed as rarer and much more valuable.
The original 2009 piece was designed by famous British artist Christopher Le Brun.
If you’ve got one of the 2009 Kew Gardens 50p pieces in your spare change, you might be able to sell it for more than £107.
Another recent auction on eBay saw one of the same coins sell for £146 while another fetched £156.
How much you can get for yours depends on a number of factors including how much bidders are willing to pay on the day.
The Kew Gardens 50p comes second in The Royal Mint’s list of top 10 rarest 50ps, just below the Atlantic Salmon coin which was first struck in 2023.
Also featuring in the top 10 list is the 2011 Olympic Football, 2011 Olympic Wrestling and 2018 Peter Rabbit.
How to spot a rare coin
A coin is usually classed as rare due to two factors – how many of it were struck or if it is an “error” coin.
For example, the 2009 Kew Gardens 50p is considered valuable because only 210,000 were minted and put into circulation.
The same goes for the Atlantic Salmon, with only 200,000 having been put into circulation in 2023.
A coin is classed as an “error” piece if something went wrong during the manufacturing process and the coin was struck incorrectly.
These types of coins are fewer and far between than those with lower mintage figures, which can make them super valuable.
For example, the HG Wells £2 error coin has been known to sell for up to £1,000 in the past.
Bronze 20p coins have been known to sell for up to £750 as well while error £1 coins have been known to go for £1,000s.
How to sell a rare coin
You’ve got three main options: in auction, on eBay or on Facebook Marketplace.
The safest way to sell a rare coin is more than likely at auction. You can organise this with The Royal Mint’s Collectors Service.
It has a team of experts who can help you authenticate and value your coin.
You can get in touch via email and a member of the valuation team will get back to you.
You will be charged for the service though – the cost varies depending on the size of your collection.
If you are selling on eBay, make sure you list the coin’s price accurately.
You can do this by checking how much other sellers have sold the same piece for.
It’s pointless listing a rare 50p for £100 if people have only been willing to pay £50 for it previously, for example.
Finally, you can sell on Facebook Marketplace, but be wary of scammers trying to get you to transfer money to dodgy accounts.
It can be easier to meet buyers in person and get cash for your coin, but only in daylight and in a public place.
In any case, if you’re selling on eBay or Facebook, decent pictures will help the coin sell for the best price.
The dangers of selling your notes on eBay
THE most valuable coins are usually those that have low or unusual serial numbers or those with an error.
Once you’ve found out whether the note is real or not, you have a number of options – including selling it on eBay.
If you want to sell your rare notes on eBay then you need to know the risks.
Remember to set a minimum price that is higher or at the very least equal to the face value of the note.
Even if your note “sells” on eBay for a high price there’s no guarantee that the buyer will cough up.
In its terms and conditions, the auction website states that bidders enter a “legally binding contract to purchase an item”, but there’s no way to enforce this rule in reality.
The most eBay can do is add a note to the buyer’s account about the unpaid item or remove their ability to bid and buy.
This is because in order to sign up to the website, users do not need to put in valid bank or PayPal details before making a bid.
If a bidder refuses to pay, then the only option for sellers is to give “second chance offers” to other bidders or relist the item.
For items of a high value, eBay recommends that sellers put a limit on their listing to approve bidders.
It means bidders must email you before placing a bid but NOT that they must pay out the cash if they win.
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