I was digging through my coin jar last night (you know, that ceramic nightmare where coins go to die) when I remembered a story about some 50p selling for crazy money. Turns out I was right - but of course mine were all boring regular ones. Typical.
The rainbow that's worth actual gold
So here's teh deal - there's this Pride-themed 50p coin that's selling for £31 on eBay. That's literally 62 TIMES what it's actually worth! And I'm sitting here counting pennies for laundry money like a chump.
This isn't just any random coin. It's got this gorgeous Pride flag design created by this East London artist named Dominique Holmes back in 2022. The Royal Mint released it for the 50th anniversary of UK Pride, and it's actually the first time our country's officially recognized the LGBTQ+ community on actual money.
What makes it special? It never actually made it into circulation.
Wait... how much??
Some lucky collector just scored £31 for one of these babies in February. Another went for £29.11 in March. I checked Amazon too - they're selling the colored versions for about a tenner.
My friend Janie collects these things and when I texted her about it, her response: "already checking my collection and ordering more." She's properly obsessed with these limited editions. Back in 2019, she spent £80 on some Peter Rabbit coin that I thought was ridiculous at the time. Who's laughing now?
The detective work (or how to spot the money-makers)
Listen. There are basically two things that make a coin valuable - either very few were made, or something went wrong during manufacturing.
The Pride coin falls into that first category. It was never meant for your pocket or mine.
God. I'm remembering that time I gave away a "rare" £2 coin in a coffee shop because I thought my mate was having me on about it being valuable. Feel stupid now.
Those sneaky error coins that could make you rich
The other type - error coins - can be worth even more. Like that HG Wells £2 that's fetched up to £1,000.
Or those bronze 20p coins that somehow slipped through quality control and ended up worth 375 times their face value.
I once thought I had a valuable error coin. Turned out it was just damaged. Poor me.
Cashing in (without getting scammed)
If you're lucky enough to find one of these Pride 50p coins, you've got options for selling.
The safest way? Auction houses. The Royal Mint has its own Collectors Service with experts who'll authenticate your coin. They'll charge you for it though - I looked into this in 2018 when my grandad left me his collection. The fees made my eyes water.
eBay's another option, but do your homework on pricing. I've seen people list coins for ridiculous amounts when similar ones sold for half that.
There's always Facebook Marketplace too... but meet in daylight, public places, and for heaven's sake, don't accept bank transfers from strangers. My neighbor tried selling some "rare" coins that way and nearly got fleeced out of £200.
Whatever you do, take decent photos. Nothing kills a sale faster than blurry images that look like they were taken underwater during an earthquake.
Now I'm off to check every 50p in this house. Again.
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Statistics
- As of 2021, the median household income in the U.S. was approximately $67,521, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.
- According to a Gallup poll, 56% of Americans report that their financial situation is better than it was a year ago.
- A study by the National Endowment for Financial Education found that 60% of Americans do not have a budget.
- The average return on investment for the S&P 500 over the past 90 years is about 10% per annum.
- According to a survey by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA), about 66% of Americans could not correctly answer four basic financial literacy questions.
- According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the average American spends about $1,500 per year on coffee.
- As of 2021, the average American household had approximately $8,400 in credit card debt, according to Experian.
- A report by Bankrate indicated that only 29% of Americans have a written financial plan.
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