Rare 2p coin with ‘hard to spot’ error sells for £700 at auction – do you have one in your change?

A SUPER rare 2p coin has sold at auction for £700 – 350 times its face value.

The “hard to spot” error piece was snapped up at the auction held by RWB, based in Wiltshire, yesterday.

BRITANNIA COIN COMPANY

BRITANNIA COIN COMPANY

The 2p piece came as part of a set released in 1983 with the wrong writing on the tails side.

Two pence coins from 1971 from 1981 were struck with wording that said “New Pence”.

The wording was changed in 1981 and all new 2p pieces had the writing “Two Pence” printed on the tails side.

However, a small number of the newly-struck coins were wrongly printed with the old phrasing on the back instead.

Experts have said the subtle error was likely produced when an old die was used to strike the coin.

The coin sold by RWB Auctions yesterday is one of a number found in coin sets that were released in 1983 featuring seven other pieces.

Thousands of the “Great British Coin Collection” sets were released but only a small number feature the rare 2p coin.

A spokesperson for RWB Auctions said: “Great British Coin Collection sets with the normal 1983 2p are worth £5 to £10, but sets with the rare error 2p have been known to sell for £1,000 or more.

They added: “The way coins are manufactured today means that very few error coins enter circulation.

“Serious collectors seek out these mistakes because they are generally very rare.

“We do not know exactly how many of these sets contain the 1983 error 2p, but they are certainly scarce and valuable.”

“It is worth checking old coin collections for this set, particularly if you were born in 1983.”

How to spot if your coin is rare

The most valuable and rare coins are usually the ones with low mintage numbers or an error.

A mintage number relates to how many of a certain coin were made, so the lower the number, the rarer and, generally, the more valuable a coin is.

Examples of some low mintage coins include The Single Market 50p which has been known to sell for £44 and the Kew Gardens 50p which has fetched £245 previously.

Meanwhile, error coins are pieces that were incorrectly struck during the manufacturing process.

The ultra-rare “lines over face” 50p error coin has been known to sell for £1,500 at auction.

Other examples include a rare 25p coin which looks like a 20p coin that has sold for £1,700.

How to sell a rare coin

There are three ways you can sell rare coins – on eBay, Facebook, or in an auction.

If you’re selling on Facebook, there are risks attached.

Some sellers have previously been targeted by scammers who say they want to buy a rare note or coin and ask for money up front to pay for a courier to pick it up.

But the courier is never actually sent and you’re left out of pocket.

Rather than doing this, it’s always best to meet a Facebook seller in person when buying or selling a rare note or coin.

Ensure it’s a public meeting spot that’s in a well-lit area and if you can, avoid using payment links.

Next, you can sell at auction, which is generally the safest option.

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.

You can also sell rare coins on eBay.

But always bear in mind, you will only make what the buyer is willing to pay at that time.

ou can search for the same note or coin as you have to see how much the same one has sold for on the website previously.

This can help give you an indication of how much you should sell it for.

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