eBay Tracker
Could I be minted? The 6 point guide to valuing your coin!
So, you’ve been hunting down that coin for what feels like a lifetime and now it’s finally turned up in your change! But after the excitement and thrill of finding that elusive coin, you find yourself asking the question, “What do I do next?”…
There are a number of options for deciding what to do with your coin and whilst many collectors enjoy holding onto them to build their collection, pass down to children, or potentially see their value change, lots of people look to sell these coins on auction sites, through dealers or on eBay.
The rarest coins out there can sell for far more than their face value, for example the Kew Gardens 50p has been known to sell up to £249 on eBay – nearly 500 times its face value! (*Correct as of April 2024).
The 6 Point Guide to valuing your coins
Before deciding whether to sell or save, you should first take a look through our 6 point guide to make sure you’re getting the most out of your coin:
1) How does your coin rate on the Scarcity Index?
The Change Checker Scarcity Index tracks which coins are the most scarce and collectable using a unique combination of mintage, collecting and swap data to give the most up-to-date picture of the collecting market.
The higher the Scarcity Index score for your coin, the more sought-after it will be to collectors.
2) How much is your coin worth?
It can be difficult to work out an exact value of a coin, as this depends on so many variants. However, once you have completed point 1, you will have a better understanding of how collectable your coin might be.
The next step is to check previously sold items on auction sites such as eBay to see how much potential buyers are willing to pay. Luckily, we’ve done the hard work for you and have put together our eBay Tracker which takes the last 9 sold listings* on eBay for 10 of the UK’s most popular coins and banknotes and works out the median selling price.
*Note: It is very important to check ‘Sold listings’ rather than active listings, as the price a coin is listed for may not be the actual price it sells at.
View our latest eBay Tracker here >>
3) How easy is it to buy your coin?
If your coin can still be purchased in Brilliant Uncirculated quality from an official Royal Mint distributor, it is unlikely that a collector would pay the same price for a circulation quality coin which might have imperfections.
4) What condition is your coin in?
Understandably, collectors are likely to pay a little extra for a coin in pristine condition, rather than a coin showing signs of wear and tear.
However, there are some rare coins (such as the 2002 Commonwealth Games Norther Ireland £2) which are very hard to find in good condition and yet they still fetch way above face value.
5) Does your coin have a story?
It’s often true that the coins with an interesting story behind them are the hardest to get hold of and so it’s worth researching your coin on our Web App to see if you can find anything that stands out or any exciting facts about the coin.
Find your coin on the Change Checker Web App >>
It’s also important to brush up on your knowledge of errors and mis-strikes which can occur on coins in our change. Keen collectors will know that it’s worthwhile paying close attention to the small details of your coins as it’s the only way you can ever hope to spot an error or mis-strike like the undated 20p or inverted effigy Britannia £2.
Mistakes happen, and when it comes to coins, these mistakes can often be worth a lot money to eagle-eyed collectors.
Check out our video on the Top 5 Error Coins and Mis-strikes in Circulation >>
If you do need extra clarification on your coin, The Royal Mint offer an authentication service starting from £20 and will provide you with a letter to confirm the coin’s authenticity.
6) Where can you sell your coin?
Now that you have a better idea of how much you could sell your coin for and why, it’s time to find a seller that’s willing to pay! Coin dealers, auction sites, Facebook coin groups and eBay are your best bets.
You can contact a member of the British Numismatics Trade Association who will advise you on auctioning your coin, although they do charge for this service. If you’re selling on eBay, be sure to set a minimum price equal to or higher than face value and be mindful that if your coin ‘sells’ at a high price, the sale may not actually go through.
Remember, your coin is legal tender and therefore will always be worth at least face value.
Whether or not you decide to sell your coin, I think you can agree that the buzz of finding rare coins in your change is second to none and one of the best hobbies to have!
If you’re interested in coin collecting, our Change Checker Web App is completely free to use and allows users to:
– Find and identify the coins in their pocket
– Collect and track the coins they have
– Swap their spare coins with other Change Checkers
Sign up to the Change Checker Web App today >>
UPDATED: The Change Checker Ebay Tracker
With more and more UK coins (and recently banknotes) being released and an ever increasing international interest in coin collecting, it can be difficult to keep track of how much the most sought-after coins are fetching on the secondary market.
In order to help you, we are delighted to share our UPDATED Change Checker eBay Tracker and Valuation Index for the Top 10 coins and banknotes!
After a small rise in value in January 2018 across the 10 tracked issues, it’s very interesting to see that there has now been a general decrease in prices,with only 2 of the top 10 seeing an increase in the price they have sold for. As you can see in the tracker below, the Jemima Puddle-duck 50p has had a significant effect on the overall value, effectively putting a cap on the maximum value able to be achieved currently.
The most surprising change to see between January and June 2018 is that the AA01 serial numbered £5 polymer bank notes are now selling for £14.50 – £4 higher than before. It would appear that the urge to get hold of one of these early printed notes is still very much present. Have you managed to get hold of one and if so, are you planning to sell it on?
The biggest decrease can be seen with the undated error 20p coins, seeing a £7 decrease from £53 to £46. As we know, up to 250,000 of these coins made it into circulation so it could be that more coins are being found now that more collectors know what to look for.
Undated 20p selling for £46
The undated 20p is regarded by many as the Holy Grail of change collecting, becoming the first coin in over 300 years to enter circulation without a date and I’m sure you’ll agree that £46 is still not a bad return for a 20p coin!
So even though we can see a general decrease in value between January and June, the overall value is still strong with the 8 tracked coins showing a 36x premium over face value!
Not surprisingly, the highly sought-after Kew Gardens 50p remains king, selling for £80.50, with some in good condition still selling for over £100! These coins are definitely worth keeping an eye out for.
Kew Gardens 50p still selling for £80.50
And due to the large amount of hype surrounding the new Paddington 50p coins, we expect them to become a potential top 10 contender in the near future. It’s a very exciting time to be a change checker, as we are sure that these coins will be extremely collectable.
Let us know in the comments below if you’ve managed to find one of these scarce coins in your change or if you’ve sold on any coins for more than face value.
How does the eBay Tracker work?
The Change Checker eBay Tracker takes the last 9 sold prices achieved on eBay and gives the median price achieved (rounded to the nearest 50p). By taking the median, rather than an average, we avoid skewing created by one or two excessive prices achieved.
Please note that the Change Checker eBay Tracker is only ever designed to be a guide as to prices achieved on eBay. Prices may vary depending on collector demand and the quality of the coin being sold. It does not provide any guarantee as to future values of coins.
If you’re interested in coin collecting, our Change Checker web app is completely free to use and allows users to:
– Find and identify the coins in their pocket
– Collect and track the coins they have
– Swap their spare coins with other Change Checkers
Sign up today at: www.changechecker.org/app
I thought my Benjamin Britten 50p was worth £3,000…
One of the most regular questions we get at Change Checker is: “I have a Benjamin Britten 50p – how much is it worth?“.
There’s no doubt that the Benjamin Britten 50p was somewhat overlooked when it was first released and it is amongst the slightly more scarce coins in circulation.
2013 Benjamin Britten 50p
In his busy life, Britten compiled an impressive and diverse body of work. Since his death in 1976, Britten’s reputation as one of the greatest musicians of the age has continued to grow.
This Benjamin Britten 50p was issued to commemorate the centenary of his birth in 1913, and features celebratory words from Tennyson set against a double stave – referencing the piano on which Britten was a virtuoso.
But how much could your Benjamin Britten 50p be worth?
If you’re looking for a brilliant uncirculated version of this coin in good condition for your collection, you might expect to pay up to £10 – maybe even a little more. However, if you want a normal circulation quality Benjamin Britten 50p – I would hold on as it will eventually turn up in your change for 50p.
So why are they being sold on eBay for extortionate prices?
Sadly, the answer is that eBay is not always a fair indicator of value. Anyone can list anything for any amount. So those who come across a slightly unusual coin (like the Benjamin Britten 50p) may list it on eBay for an outrageous price, and once in a while, a naïve customer will pay the price.
It’s not just the Benjamin Britten 50p…many others including the 2006 Brunel £2, 2005 Gunpowder Plot £2 and the 2014 Trinity House £2 coins have also been listed for crazy prices.
Safe eBay buying tips
We would always suggest caution and user discretion when buying and selling on eBay. To get a more realistic idea of what your coin could potentially sell for, view the ‘sold listings’ on eBay to see the actual prices buyers have been willing to pay, although there is still no guarantee that these sales have all actually gone through.
So to help you get the most out of your money, we’ve created 5 eBay buying tips:
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