Royal Mint launches new Paddington Bear 50p after leaked coin sells for £16k on eBay

THE Royal Mint has launched a new series of Paddington Bear 50p coins after a college student found an unreleased one in her change at the shops and flogged it on eBay for £16,000.

The seller - Jordan Mcilquham - found the leaked coin in her change after a "quick shop" in Caerphilly, south Wales last week.

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Yesterday, the coin - which The Royal Mint confirmed is genuine - sold for £16,000 after it was spotted by collectors on the auction website.

Amazingly, the details of the new coins had not yet been released by the Royal Mint, which is based just under 10 miles down the road in Llantrisant.

It is believed to have been accidentally pocketed by someone at the Royal Mint, before being spent at a local shop, according to .

Earlier this year, Privy Council documents revealed that the Queen had ordered two new 50p coins to be designed in honour of Paddington Bear.

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There were details about what the coin would look like but the official details were still under wraps.

Today, the Mint confirmed that commemorative versions of the coin, which feature two different designs, will go on sale on Monday 18 June, with prices starting from £10.

The coins are not technically legal tender but may end up cropping in spare change.

There will be one coloured coin and one silver proof coin featuring the same design, to make the 60th anniversary of the popular book being launched.

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Its unclear how many coins will be created.

It's unlikely, however, that any of these coins will fetch the same amount as the leaked coin.

The new 50p is still likely to be popular with collectors.

The coin will not be released into general circulation like other popular designs, such as the Beatrix Potter range and A-Z of Britain 50ps.

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