THE rarest and most valuable coins of 2020 have been revealed with the Kew Gardens 50p still top of the list.
If you’re lucky enough to pick up one of the super rare 50ps in your spare change, it could be worth up to £230 – or 460 times its face value.
Here are the rarest coins still in circulation, according to Change CheckerThe Kew Gardens piece is particularly valuable to collectors as only 210,000 of them have ever been launched into circulation.
Typically, the Royal Mint usually releases around one million 50p coins into circulation when there is a new design.
We’ve analysed Change Checker’s scarcity index to find out the most sought after 10p, 50p and £2 coins of the year.
We then checked how much they’ve sold for recently on eBay.
In terms of 10p coins, we found some pieces were selling for more than 30 times their original value.
Or for £2 coins, collectors are paying up to £51 for rare designs on eBay.
£1 coins aren’t as sought after because the 12-sided pound hasn’t changed in design since its launch in 2017.
If you’re thinking of flogging a coin, it’s worth remembering that it’s only really worth what someone is willing to pay for it.
Or if you’re buying one, keep an eye out for fakes and sellers who are looking to rip you off.
Here are the most collectable coins of 2020:
Rarest 50p coins
- Kew Gardens – £230
The Kew Gardens 50p remains the most valuable coinThe most valuable coin in the list, the Kew Gardens 50p was released in 2009 to mark 250 years since the heritage site opened in 1759.
Its design features one of the garden buildings, the Chinese Pagoda, which was built in 1761.
We’ve previously reported on how one fetched a staggering £230 on eBay for one lucky seller – although this is an unusually high amount.
- Judo – £20
The Judo 50p was released as part of an Olympic collection
The majority of the rare 50p coins are from the 2012 London Olympics collection, which was released by the Royal Mint during the same year.
A total of 29 different designs for the 50p coin were released, each one representing an Olympic sport.
This one, which is the second most scarce 50p, features two athletes performing judo and recently sold on eBay for £20.
Around 1,161,500 of these were released into circulation.
- Triathlon – £17
The Triathlon coin is also part of the Olympics release
Next up is the triathlon 50p, also from the 2012 London Olympics collection.
Only 1,163,500 of these were released into circulation, with one recently being flogged on eBay for £17.12.
The design is made up of a swimmer, cyclist and a runner to represent the three activities that make up a triathlon.
- Wrestling – £15
Wrestling comes fourth in terms of rarest 50ps
If you’ve got one of these wrestling coins in your pocket then it could be worth up to £15.
Around 1.12million of them were released into circulation and it’s the third most scarce Olympic coin.
However, the ranking of 50p coins – particularly the Olympic ones – do tend to change year on year, so keep an eye on the latest scarcity index.
Rarest £2 coins
- Commonwealth Games Northern Ireland – £51
The Northern Ireland edition is the rarest among the Commonwealth £2 coins
The 2002 Commonwealth Games Northern Ireland £2 coin tops the scarcity index list for £2 coins.
It was released as part of a collection to celebrate the games and comes with three other counterparts designed for England, Wales and Scotland.
The coin bares the flag of Northern Ireland and in total, 485,500 such coins entered circulation.
We spotted one that sold for £51 on eBay back in October 2020.
- Commonwealth Games England – £32
The second most valuable is the England Commonwealth Games coin
The England counterpart of the 2002 Commonwealth Games £2 coins is next on the scarcity index – and you’d be forgiven for assuming it looks identical to the Northern Ireland version.
But the coins actually feature different flags, so keep an eye out for this if you find one in your spare change.
Around 650,500 of the England ones went into circulation, with one recently selling on eBay for £32.55.
- Commonwealth Games Scotland – £31
Scotland comes next in terms of rarest £2 coins
If you come across the Scotland version of the Commonwealth Games £2 coin, you could fetch around £31.
That’s according to an eBay listing that accumulated 22 bids on November 1.
Up to 771,750 of these coins were issued in 2002.
- Olympic Handover – £15
Olympic coins feature heavily in the most valuable countdown
The Royal Mint released this special £2 coin in 2008 to celebrate the handover of the Olympic Games from Beijing to London.
The design features the Olympic rings on a flag and the London 2012 logo, with around 918,000 of these coins being minted.
If you’ve got one in your pocket, it could be worth as much as £15.59.
Rarest 10p coins
- Tea – £3.40
This 10p coin features a cup of tea and is part of the A-Z collection
The rarest 10p list is largely made up of coins from the 2018 A-Z collection, which consists of 26 designs celebrating the best of British in the style of the alphabet.
Top of the list is T for Tea, in ode to the nation’s favourite drink – although it’s not clear exactly how many of these coins are in circulation.
A total of 2.6million A-Z pieces were thought to be minted in total.
If you’ve got one, the T for Tea 10p coin could fetch you £3.40, which is more than 30 times its original value.
- Yeoman Wander – £3.50
10p coins featuring Yeoman Warder guards are also worth more than their face value
For coin collectors with a Yeoman Wander 10p in their collection, you could be looking at making £3.50.
It isn’t a lot in reality, but like the T for Tea coin, it’s still more than 30 times its original worth.
Again, the Royal Mint hasn’t said how many of these were minted.
- NHS – £3
Coin hunters may not be surprised to see NHS coins in the list
It’s perhaps not surprising that the N for NHS 10p has moved up the scarcity list, given the tough year healthcare staff have had following the coronavirus crisis.
We spotted one that sold for £3 on eBay, so you can still make more than what it’s worth.
- World Wide Web – £2.20
Last on the list is this 10p celebrating the internet
In a year where people are more online than ever, the W for World Wide Web 10p is the fourth rarest 10p.
Find one, and it could sell for around £2.20 on eBay.
Keep up with all the latest rare coins and notes thanks to our handy hub page.
One of the latest new 50p coins to be released features The Snowman – and it could be worth up to £174.
Need a little extra cash? You could be sitting on a fortune – if you’ve got a rare £1 coin hiding in your wallet.
Did you miss our previous article…
https://www.hellofaread.com/money/best-baby-sales-with-up-to-50-off-at-shops-including-boots-asda-and-aldi/
