Check your small change

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Are these valuable coins lurking in your wallet?
Five valuable coins worth up to £850 you may have in your wallet

By Sarah Coles, Aug 27, 2015

The small change in your wallet could be worth hundreds of pounds, because there are a handful of rare coins masquerading as every-day 2ps, 20ps and 50ps. Have you checked your change recently, and so you know what to look for?

There are five rare coins that are worth reasonable sums:

1. To mark the Olympics in 2012, a number of commemorative 50p coins were produced. Only one of them is considered particularly rare, because the design was changed shortly after production began. The coin in question celebrated aquatic sports with a picture of a swimmer. To begin with it was struck with waves over the swimmers' face (as above), before the Mint decided to make further coins with the face showing more clearly. If you have one of the originals, you have something significant, because they have been known to sell for up to £850.

2. One of the most famous valuable coins is the 2p made by accident in 1983. When 2ps were first struck in 1971, they were all printed with the words 'New Pence' on the tails side. In 1982 the words were changed to 'Two Pence', but in 1983 the Mint accidentally struck some with 'New Pence' on them. These are valued at anything up to £650.

3. Another famous mistake took place in November 2008, when a number of 20p coins were incorrectly minted, so they ended up without a date on them. The mistake happened when the design was changed, and the date moved from the tails side to the head side. During the switch, up to 250,000 coins were made with the old heads side and the new tails - so there was no date. They have been known to change hands for anything up to £100.

4. The most famous mass-produced commemorative coin design in circulation is the Kew Gardens Commemorative 50p, minted in 2009, of which only 210,000 were produced. The small number produced mean this is by far the rarest mass produced coin in circulation, and coins have sold for up to £120. Unfortunately, the publicity surrounding this coin mean many more were dug out of people's purses and put up for auction, so may fetch little more than £25 at the moment.

5. In 2002 there were four £2 coins released to mark the 2002 Commonwealth Games in Manchester. They were based around the same core design, but featured different flags of the four constituent parts of the UK. The Northern Ireland version is the second rarest in in circulation - as only 485,500 coins were minted. The Wales version is the third rarest, with the England coin in fourth place and the Scotland coin in fifth. The Northern Ireland coin can fetch up to £20, with the others selling for anywhere between £7 and £10.

Aside from these coins, there are plenty more that sell on eBay for more than their face value. Among them are many of the 50ps released to commemorate the 2012 Olympic Games. It's thought than more than half of each design were taken out of circulation almost immediately, leaving a number of rare examples. The Judo, Triathlon, Wrestling and Offside Rule 50ps regularly sell for more than their face value on eBay.

So maybe it's time to check whether you have a fortune lurking in your change.

http://money.aol.co.uk/2015/08/27/are-t ... d%3D376055

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