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Your 50p coin could be worth as much as £250 – exact date to spot in your spare change
A RARE 50p coin could fetch you as much as £250 so it's worth rummaging around if you are a hoarder of spare change.
The unique coin features a jumping athlete and there are two versions that were made.
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TikTok account @uk.coin.hunt shared a video explaining the difference between the two coins.
In the video, he says that there is a 2009 and 2011 version and that the one dated 2009 is worth £200 to £250.
He said of the 2009 coin: "There was only ever 19,722 in a winners edition card" and this is the reason it is more desirable.
This is correct, and there is a reason why the date matters on this sought-after 50p coin.
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There were 26 different designs released to celebrate the Olympics held in London in 2021.
The Blue Peter Olympic coin was drawn by young Blue Peter viewer Florence Jackson after winning a competition on the kids' TV show.
Around 2.2million of the coins were minted in 2011 and released into circulation but it is the earlier version that was minted in 2009 that is much more valuable.
When the 2009 Blue Peter coins were made, they could be bought from the Royal Mint for £1.99 and were never put into circulation.
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But since then many of the coins have been bought and sold.
We also had a look on eBay to see what the Olympics jumping athlete coin has recently sold for.
In July 2023 one of the 2009 coins sold for a whopping £235.
Prices for the 2011 coin are much lower and that coin has most recently sold for £2.
Rare coins can fetch huge sums so if you have lots of change hanging around the house it could be worth checking amongst it.
How to sell rare and valuable coins
There are a few ways you can sell your rare coins but the most popular are through eBay or at auction.
Bear in mind though even though that a coin is only worth what someone is willing to pay.
Even though you might have an expectation of how much the coin is worth, a lot of the time it boils down to what happens on the day.
There are some things to watch out for when you are selling your coins on eBay.
Remember to set a minimum price that is higher or at least equal to the face value of the coin.
If your coin does sell on eBay for a high sum there is no guarantee that the buyer is going to cough up.
While it does say in the terms and conditions of the site that bidders enter a "legally binding contract to purchase an item" there is no way to enforce this rule.
This is because in order to sign up to the website users do not need to put in valid bank or PayPal details before making a bid.
If a bidder does refuse to pay the only option for sellers is to give "second chance offers" to other bidders or re-list the item.
If you have a coin that you want to sell at auction you can contact a member of the British Numismatic Trade Association.
They usually deal in very old coins but they may be able to help advise you on whether to sell your coin at auction and whether it would be valuable to a collector.
Bear in mind that you will often have to visit them in person for them to assess the coin and also will usually charge a fee or take a percentage of the sale.
One rare 50p coin sold for more than 300 times its face value and made it into the top three of the rarest coins out there.
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It is not just coins either, notes can also fetch hundreds if they have certain serial numbers on them.
We pulled together a list of the most valuable two-pound coins in circulation - do you have any of these?
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