Two coins worth 100s of times their face value… and how to spot them in your pocket
TWO coins are worth hundreds of times their face value – and now tips have been given on how to spot them in your pocket.
A money expert has revealed how certain familiar-looking coins can actually be cashed in for far more than you might think.
A TikToker shared a 66-second clip explaining just what to look for.
One is a £2 coin, the other a 20p piece – but they have rare secret glitches making them prized among collectors and so more valuable.
Social media user @thecoincollectoruk explained how a £2 coin bearing the face of World War 1 recruiter Lord Kitchener can be very common – with as 5.7million versions in circulation.
Yet the potentially-lucrative versions are ones which fail to say “Two pounds” on the other side which features the late Queen Elizabeth II.
Those coin expert revealed such minting mistakes are known as “mule errors”.
And he told how one of the rogue £2 coins sold at auction for £500, while another attracted offers of almost double that.
The other coin he identified was a 20p piece which should ordinarily have its date 2008 on the Queen‘s head side only for it to be somehow missing in occasional cases.
The Royal Mint had decided back then to change the positioning of the date on each 20p piece, moving it from back to front.
Yet an accidental error meant a batch of between 50,000 and 250,000 coins was released without any date at all.
The undated 20p coin remains legal tender and can be used in shops, according to the Royal Mint’s website – and could be among your small change.
The TikToker said: “This is also a mule error which regularly goes for £50 to £60 regularly, 250 times its face value.”
He urged people: “If you own either of these coins, check them.
“Yours could be worth hundreds of times its face value.”
The advice came as people were advised they could be sitting on a small fortune due to limited-edition coins issued by the Royal Mint.
These include a rare Olympics-themed 50p coin dedicated to the triathlon event, one celebrating Kew Gardens and another featuring a design by a young viewer of BBC One show Blue Peter.
Coin experts at Change Checker have also advised on the rarest 20p coins which could fetch as much at £1, 400.
An unusual 10p piece could be worth 300 times its face value, it has been revealed – while six dateless 20p coins recently sold for more than £300 in Redditch, Worcestershire.
A study revealed the 11 rarest £2 coins which could net you profits, with many attracting keen interest on auction site eBay.
Special royal family-themed coins can also be worth more.
Other error coins which have proved valuable include a bronze 20p, a silver-plated 2p and a blank-faced 20p.
And it’s not just coins which surprise – bank notes can also be worth far more than face value, thanks to quirky serial numbers.