Rare 50p coin could be worth £1,500 - how to check if you have one (2024)

FAQs

How do I know if my 50p coin is valuable? ›

Why are some 50p coins determined to be rare? One of the most important factors in deciding a coin's rarity and value is mintage – how many of a certain coin were issued. Unique coins with faults, like being struck twice can be very valuable, as they are sought after by collectors.

A rare 50p coin issued ahead of the 2012 London Olympics has been sold at auction in Wiltshire for £1,500. The coin was issued by the Royal Mint in 2011. It was sold at RWB Auctions in Royal Wootton Bassett on Thursday 9 May. The Aquatics 50p was part of a collection released before the 2012 London Olympic Games.

The rarest is the Kew Garden 50p coin, which was designed to mark the 250th anniversary of the gardens in 2009. Only 210,000 coins were ever minted in this design. One seller received more than £700 for one when they sold it on eBay - but you can still buy them quite cheaply.

Many collectors choose to sell through eBay or similar online auction sites operating today. It is definitely a better choice than going through a pawnbroker, but getting a reasonable price for even rare 2 pound coin or even a collectable 50p coin requires a great deal of right timing and even a bit of luck.

Reputable coin dealers, Coin Auctions, eBay, and Price Guides are great places to start. If your coins are graded by one of the Top Tier grading services like PCGS or NGC, you can usually get a reasonable value estimate sight-unseen!

Mintages and Production Changes: The rarity of certain half dollars can be traced back to limited mintages and significant production changes over the years. For instance, early issues like the 1794 Flowing Hair Half Dollar had minimal mintage due to the challenges of coin production during that era.

The specification was changed for 1997 with the older, larger coins removed from circulation. Today, you are very unlikely to come across an old 50p in your change and if you did you would not be able to spend it in a shop. Since they can be hard to find, these pre-97 50ps are sought after by change collectors.

"The 2017 Benjamin Bunny 50p is usually just worth face value unless you have a rare rotation error version." But there's one change that could be worth far more. "The error Benjamin Bunny coin has the Queen's head printed facing the wrong direction.

1933 Saint-Gaudens Double Eagle

The 1933 version of this coin is perhaps the rarest and most sought-after one of all. The only privately owned one is held by Stuart Weitzman. It was last valued at $7,500,000 compared to its original $20 value.

What is the rarest two-coin? ›

Which £2 coins are the rarest? The rarest in circulation are considered to be the 2022 Commonwealth Games £2 coins for Northern Ireland and Wales. Just 485,500 and 588,500 of each were minted respectively. They frequently sell on eBay for about £40 and £25.

Just be aware that this is done at your bank's discretion – as these coins are no longer legal tender, they aren't under any legal obligation to accept them.

Determine the value by evaluating the condition, denomination and, bullion value and getting it professionally appraised. Then, sell your rare coin to a coin dealer or at an auction or coin show. You'll be surprised by how much these little pieces of metal are worth!

Once you have the date, origin, and condition nailed down, use coin value lists posted online by professional organizations like the Professional Numismatics Guild to check how much it's worth. If you can't find the value of your coin online, consult a reference book like the Standard Catalog of World Coins.

The Kew Gardens is known as the UK's rarest circulation 50p, with a mintage of just 210,000 and the next rarest commemorative 50p is the 2017 Sir Isaac Newton, with a mintage of 1,801,500.

The highly reflective field has a mirror-like quality that clearly stands out. You can usually tell a proof coin apart visually from a regular coin that happens to be very shiny. It's also worth discussing the difference between proof coins and uncirculated coins.