Brits urged to check purses as rare 50p coin sells for £150 after eBay bidding war – here’s how to spot it
BRITS have been urged to look behind the sofa for spare change after a 50p coin was found to be worth around £148.
The special edition coin, released in 2009 to mark 250 years since Kew Gardens opened in 1759, is now worth nearly £150.00.
The coin had a starting out price of £2 according to its online listing, reports the . But after 15 bids the coin was valued at £148.
Anyone who finds one of the Kew Gardens 50p coins is urged to check the date on it before they celebrate.
The Royal Mint reissued a second batch of the coins in 2019 to celebrate 50 years of the 50p. This set of coins are said to be worth between £70 and £80 on eBay.
Earlier this year one of the 2009 batch of 50ps coins sold for £234.
Bidding started on this one at 99p after it was first listed on March 5 but the cost climbed more than 468 times - seeing the coin sell for the massive £234.
Plus, the Mirror reported the buyer wanted it shipped on express delivery - so paid an extra £7.65. This saw the total price they paid for the 50p jump to £241.65.
How to check if your small change is worth anything
Online tools from change experts like are helpful to see how much it could be worth as well and you can also refer to Change Checker's latest scarcity index update to see which coins are topping the charts.
Change Checker tracks which rare coins and valuable notes are worth the most.
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You can check how much the coin is selling for on eBay, by searching the full name of the coin, selecting the "sold" listing and then toggling the search to "highest value".
It will give you a rough idea of the amount that coin is selling for.
But remember, coins are only really worth what someone is willing to pay for them.
Sometimes collectors might fork out more if they're desperate to finish a set.
Other times, you might get significantly less for the same coin.
Special 50p coins aren't the only big wins you could find in your piggy bank, we've listed the rarest 10ps here.