Another ultra-rare silver 2p coin has been discovered – and it could be worth £1,350
A 29-YEAR-OLD man from Kent has become the second person in the space of a week to find a rare silver 2p in his collection, and it could be worth whopping £1,350.
James Weller found the error coin when emptying out his change jar more than a year ago to take to the bank, and thought it was unusual.
But he had no idea of its value until he started doing some research online, and quickly discovered that it could be worth a mint.
He sent the coin off to the Royal Mint to get it verified, and it confirmed in January that the silver coin was the result of an error that occurred during the minting process, and is extremely rare.
Just last week we reported how delivery driver David Allan had found a silver 2p in his spare change.
At the time of writing, the coin had not been verified by the Royal Mint, but if it is David plans on selling the error coin it could pocket him a tidy sum, with previous 2p coins selling for up to £1,350.
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James now plans on selling his coin too, but said that he wants to hold onto it for a while to enjoy it.
He said: "Since finding the coin I've become a coin collector and I check every single coin that I come into contact with.
"At first I had no idea that the silver 2p was rare and valuable, so it's a big surprise. I will probably sell it eventually, but first I want to enjoy it for a while.
According to Yasmin Britton from the website Change Checker, there have only been a handful of reports of people finding silver 2p coins, and “it is possible that more could be found as it is accidental”.
If the coins are confirmed as genuine, they are likely to sell at auction for the same or close to £1,350 like the other error 2ps have.
James said he had also found another valuable coin in his collection - the 2015 Britannia £2 inverted effigy coin, which shows the Queen’s head upside down.
The 2015 £2 Britannia is one of the rarest circulating £2 coins ever issued, with just 650,000 coins passing through banks and cash centres. It could be worth up to £115.
But with any rare coin, it is only valuable if someone is willing to pay for it.
While there are lots of collectors on eBay, you might have better luck at a physical auction. If you do try eBay, make sure to set a minimum price of what you’re happy to get for it, so that it doesn’t sell for less.
WHAT TO DO IF YOU'VE GOT A RARE COIN
FIRSTLY, you need to make sure the coin is legit and not counterfeit. The Royal Mint is unable to value a coin but it can confirm whether it is real or not.
They will usually supply you with a letter to confirm this. Once you’ve found out whether the coin is real or not, you have a number of options – either selling it through a coin dealer, at auction or on eBay.
If you want to sell the coin you’ve found in your spare change on eBay then you need to know the risks.
Remember to set a minimum price that is higher or at the very least equal to the face value of the coin.
Even if your coin “sells” on eBay for a high price there’s no guarantee that the buyer will cough out.
In its terms and conditions an auction website will state that bidders enter a “legally binding contract to purchase an item”, but there’s no way to enforce this rule in reality.
For more information about what to do if you’ve found a rare coin, read our guide.
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