Do you have a Jemima Puddle-Duck 50p? Collectors hunt for rarest Beatrix Potter coin
COLLECTORS desperate to complete their set of Beatrix Potter-themed coins are hunting for the 50p featuring Jemima Puddle-Duck - with some paying up to seventeen times its value to secure it.
Last year, the Royal Mint released special edition 50p coins, which featured the characters Peter Rabbit, Squirrel Nutkin, Mrs Tiggy-Winkle, Jemima Puddle-Duck, to mark the 150th anniversary of the author's birth.
Now mintage figures from the Royal Mint revealed that only 2.1 million Jemima Puddle-Duck coins were released into circulation - making it the most sought after 50p coin from the series and the 6th most scarce in UK circulation.
To compare, this is less than 20 per cent of Peter Rabbit coins with 9.6 million in circulation, and half the amount of Squirrel Nutkin coins, with 5 million coins released into circulation.
For every Jemima Puddle-Duck coin listed as available to swap, ChangeChecker said more than 8 users were requesting the item.
This interest is already starting to drive up prices on eBay where collectors have been auctioning the coin for nearly 17 times its value at £8.95.
In general, the rarer the coin the more valuable it is, and has previously created a scarcity index that tracks which circulating 50p coins are the most scarce and collectable.
The Kew Gardens 50p tops the scarcity index list. With a mintage of just 210,000, it is the rarest coin and is the most in demand.
MOST READ IN MONEY
Coin experts estimate that you can sell the coin for up to £100 on eBay.
A rare Peter Rabbit 50p made headlines last year when a homeless man was handed one, thought to be worth hundreds of pounds, while begging in Exeter, Devon.
Richard Bird, a window cleaner from Hull - expected to land up to £3,000 after he found one with two different dates stamped on it. He told the Sun Online he bought some Beatrix Potter collection coins last year for about £60 each.
But the Peter Rabbit coins are now selling for £550 on eBay, according to the collector.
Other rare and valuable coins that could be hiding in your spare change include the ones that contain subtle minting errors.
The Sun Online has previously shown which error coins can bag you the most cash.
The Royal Mint might soon be able to help you identify any earners as the government-owned coin maker recently announced it is considering offering valuations as part of its future strategy to grow in the collecting market.
We recently took a trip to the Royal Mint in Wales - where the £1 coins are being made - to find out how these errors happen and why they make your coins so valuable.
What to do you if you think you've got a rare coin?
FIRSTLY, you need to make sure the coin is legit and not counterfeit.
- Around one in every four old £1 coins are thought to be fake, according to the Royal Mint, so there are probably more fakers in your spare change then you realise
- The Royal Mint is currently 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 genuine or not, you have a number of options – either selling it through a coin dealer, at auction or on eBay
The latest data from ChangeChecker comes as time is running out to spend your old £1 coins, which will stop being legal tender on October 15.
So far 800million of the old style coins have been returned, but there are many more still out there.
The process of replacing the coins, which have been in circulation for 33 years, began in March with the release of the new 12-sided version.
We pay for your stories! Do you have a story for The Sun Online Money team? Email us at [email protected] or call 0207 78 24516