Rare coins worth £1,500 – do you own one?

If you have any spare change lying around, it’s worth checking if any of them are faulty, as a rare error coin could be worth hundreds of pounds. 

Error coins are scarce, just like vinyl collectables, first-edition vintage books or rare Barbie doll collections, which boosts its value due to the rarity and levels of demand.

On 9 May, a rare 50p 2012 London Olympics coin was sold at an RWB auction in Wiltshire for £1,500, which is “arguably the most highly prized 50p in existence”, according to the Royal Mint. 

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It follows a 2014 Field Marshall Kitchener £2 coin stating ‘Your Country Needs You’ that was sold at an RWB auction for £1,000 in February. It was the rarest error coin in circulation and had been authenticated by The Royal Mint Museum.

Find out how to spot a rare error coin, how much it could be worth and if any other faulty coins are in circulation. 

What does the rare coin look like? 

The rare 50p coin was issued by the Royal Mint in 2011 to commemorate the 2012 London Olympics. It was called the Aquatics 50p and was part of a collection that featured 29 different sports on currency. 

The original design that Jonathan Olliffe created depicted a swimmer‘s face that was covered by fluid lines representing waves. Soon after, the coin was changed to make the swimmer’s face more visible, but the first design had already made its way into circulation. The original design became known as ‘Lines Over The Face’.

Since these coins were already specially created for the Olympics, having a defect made them even more collectable. What makes the coin even rarer is that there isn’t an accurate estimate of how many of them entered circulation. 

One of these rare coins has just sold at an auction in Wiltshire and went for £1,500, which became £1,680 after VAT and a 10% buyer fee. This is the highest price that has been paid for a 50p error coin so far. 

How much could these coins be worth? 

Just like other collectables, the value of the coin will depend on various factors, for example its scarcity, the condition of the coin and what it's made of to name a few. 

Rebecca Morgan, director of commemorative coins at The Royal Mint, says: “If people are looking to sell a coin on the secondary market, and the coin has an unusually low mintage, then it might sell for higher than its face value.”

It’s also important to do your research first - know how many of the same type of coins are circulating. If you’re not sure, ask an expert in the field. 

The condition of the coin plays a part in its value too. “The closer to ‘mint condition’ (the condition it was in when it came off the production line at The Royal Mint), the higher value it could be,” Morgan adds. 

Previously, the 50p Aquatics coin has gone for £1,500, and many more 2p coins have sold for £1,000. 

Are there other error coins in circulation? 

Whilst the First World War outbreak £2 coin has been named one of the rarest error coins, there are other faulty ones in circulation that could fetch you some decent money.  

Error coins

2009 50p Kew Gardens coin

Not so much an error, but the rare 50p coin was issued in 2009 to commemorate the 250th birthday of London’s Kew Gardens. 210,000 of these coins entered circulation at the time of mintage, but according to The Royal Mint, these coins were removed from circulation when found by collectors- making it one of the most scarce 50p coins out there. This one has fetched between £300 to £700.

2011 London Olympics coins

The rarest of all Olympics coins is the 50p football coin, according to the Royal Mint. Only 1,125,500 of these coins were minted for circulation, so they’re definitely not easy to score. 

The coin features the most-asked question in football: What is offside? It showed a tactic board demonstrating when a player would or would not be considered to be offside. 

Other rare Olympics coins include the 50p judo coin, 50p triathlon coin, 50p tennis coin and the 50p goalball coin. 

2016 £1 error coin

The more recent £1 error coin consists of two dates- the year 2016 on the obverse of the coin and 2017 on the reverse which is micro-engraved on the rim. The faulty coin has previously fetched around £200. 

1990 20p coin

The 20p coin is plated on a bronze 1p style coin. The signed letter from The Royal Mint describes the faulty coin as “underweight, and features slightly rounded edges consistent with the blank being unsuitable in size for the collar in which it was struck.” The coin sold for around £200 at auction. 

What to do if you find an error coin

If you come across a rare faulty coin, it’s worth getting it authenticated by The Royal Mint. After it verifies the coin, you will get an official letter describing the errors on the coin. 

If you’re not sure whether you’re dealing with a real or fake coin, rather than going straight to the Royal Mint, you can verify it first with a coin expert or a reputable auction firm.