You’ve no doubt read plenty of articles urging you to “check your change” in case you’re handed a rare coin in the fistful of cash you get back after making a purchase.
Equally, you may have thought to yourself: “What’s the point?” or: “I bet these so-called ‘rare’ coins aren’t actually worth that much really.”
However, as it turns out you can actually end up making a mint (excuse the pun) by listing rare coins – particularly 50ps, it turns out – on auction site eBay.
In fact, just this month alone (October 2024), some very lucky Scots have enjoyed a major windfall after selling their 50p coins online for as much as £18,000 – a staggering profit – after stumbling upon sought-after collectors items.
Some of the rarest 50p coins that people in the UK are hunting for at the moment include the Kew Gardens 50p. This elusive bit of coinage is incredibly hard to find with just 210,000 in circulation since being released back in 2009.
If you find one, you’re looking at a profit of thousands of pounds. The London Olympics 2012 50p can also fetch a pretty penny.
There’s also a new King Charles III 50p coin that’s even rarer than the Kew Gardens one: the Atlantic Salmon 50p, pictured at the top of this article, which is now the scarcest in active circulation. According to TikTok user @CoinCollectingWizard, it’s “skyrocketing” in value at the moment.
In June 2024, @CoinCollectingWizard also highlighted a rare version of the Benjamin Bunny 50p coin, issued in 2017 as part of the Beatrix Potter series.
The user explained: “Did you know if your Benjamin Bunny 50p has a rotation error then it could be worth a lot more money? This 50p error coin is rare all because the design is facing the wrong way. The error has left the Queen’s head in the wrong direction on the obverse. This will have happened in the minting process.”
We’ve taken a trawl through recent eBay sales and discovered a truly jealousy-inducing set of recent completed rare 50p auctions that have netted several lucky Scots a total of £31,500, for just eight coins.
Top 8 expensive 50p coins sold on eBay Scotland in October 2024
This “extremely rare” Beatrix Potter “The Tale Of Benjamin Bunny” 50p coin issued in 2017, which a Glasgow-based seller sold for £18,000 on October 18.
A job lot of 2023 “Salmon” 50p coins, also described as the UK’s “newest rarest coins” which feature a salmon alongside a design of interconnecting letter ‘C’s to represent King Charles III. An Edinburgh-based seller sold four for £10,000 on October 15.
Two special edition, gold “Father Christmas” 50ps minted in 2020 and 2021. The Father Christmas gold 50p coins were originally issued by The Pobjoy Mint in Gibraltar. A Glasgow-based seller sold them for £2000 on October 12.
A “very rare” 2019 Paddington Bear 50p coin, which was sold by a user in Penicuik, Midlothian for £1,500 on October 12.
So there you have it: it seems it really is worth “checking your change” after all.
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