Could this Bee a new error £1 coin?
2.975 million King Charles III Bee £1 coins entered circulation in August 2024. Since then, the race has been on to track down these new coins creating a buzz in the collecting world!
Many collectors have already been lucky enough to come across the Bee £1, but perhaps none so lucky as Diane Bath, who spotted a rare error on one of the coins…
The error coin causing a buzz
Diane runs The Post Office in Broughton-in-Furness, Cumbria, where she found a King Charles III Bee £1 struck in entirely one colour!
The image below shows the single metal coin, without the silver-coloured inner piece seen on standard United Kingdom £1 coins:
£1 coins are struck from a nickel-brass outer ring and an inner piece made from a nickel-plated brass alloy. It’s possible that this error coin was created due to the inner section not being punched out of the nickel-brass before the coin was struck. For confirmation of this, we’d suggest sending the error coin to The Royal Mint for verification.
Diane, a postmistress of over 20 years, told the press: “I am absolutely over the moon. Obviously we handle cash all the time and it’s the most exciting find I’ve ever had in over two decades.”
Worth a pretty penny
The coin was auctioned on 18th October by Ryedale Auctioneers, and whilst it had an estimated value of £500-£800, it actually sold for £1,250!
Image Credit: Ryedale Auctioneers
A similar error occurred when the first 12-sided £1 coins were released back in 2017, although only a small handful of these error coins were ever found. Reportedly, one such error coin sold for over £2,000 at auction!
Ultimately, the selling price of a rare error item like this at auction depends on how much a collector is willing to pay to get their hands on it. So remember, if you’re looking to secure an error coin on the secondary market, always do your research and be aware of fakes before you buy.
Have you spotted any errors on the new King Charles III coinage? Let us know in the comments below!
Secure the Complete Set of New UK Coinage!
Whilst the Bee £1 and Salmon 50p can now be found in your change, it could be years until all 8 coins can readily be found in circulation…
So don’t miss out! Own the complete set now, with each coin including a special privy mark to set them apart from the coins in your change!
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Will the Mint be issuing more of the Bee £1? 2.9 Million doesn’t seem a lot, I’ve not seen one in circulation.
Can you order from your bank?
Hi Keith, the Bee £1 is the new definitive £1 coin design, so we can expect more to be issued every year depending on demand.
I hope that helps, Kate
Got a £1 bee error coin yesterday. One colour only.
Hi Rachel,
Do you know when the 2025 coin sets will be available. Many thanks.
Regards,
Steve Davis
Hi Steve,
The Annual Sets are usually released each year at the very beginning of January, but we’re unsure exactly when they’ll be launching next year.
I hope that helps, Kate
I already have The Royal Mint Lunar Year of the Snake £5 coin. It is marked 2025 on both sides – head and tails.
I’ve heard from someone at senior level at BOE that the Atlantic Salmon circulated 50p’s actually released are considerably less than the 500k that various coin dealers have been guessing. Could the release numbers of supposedly 2.97 million Bee £1 coins be less as well? The mintage figures for the 2023 circulated coins will be very interesting when they come out.
Hi Michael, the 2023 Salmon 50p has just been announced as the new rarest 50p with a mintage of just 200,000, making it rarer than the Kew Gardens!
The other 2023 coin mintages have also been announced, you can find out more on our blog: https://www.changechecker.org/2024/10/07/first-king-charles-iii-definitive-coins-enter-circulation-2023-mintage-figures-announced/
I hope that helps, Kate
i heard about a bee £1 error last week, this must be it. when will the 2023 mintage figures be released for these new coins, i’m hoping they all were minted.
Will be interesting to see if any more are found! There’s no news on the 2023 mintage figures yet, but we’ll be sure to let everyone know as soon as we have any updates.