Posts Tagged ‘Error Coin’
Could your Peter Rabbit 50p be worth £25,000!?
A 2017 Peter Rabbit 50p hit the headlines recently as it had been listed on eBay for a whopping £25,000! Why, I hear you ask? Well this particular coin had an interesting additional feature…
Image Credit: eBay
The 2017 Peter Rabbit 50p has a circulating mintage of 19,900,000, making it one of the more common 50p designs in circulation. Usually a coin with this mintage wouldn’t fetch more than a few pounds on the secondary market, however one eagle-eyed collector noticed something unusual about theirs, can you spot it?
Something strange is afoot
If you clocked the extra lump under Peter’s front foot, then well done, because you’ve spotted something many haven’t noticed before. One collector from Dereham picked up this feature on their 2017 Peter Rabbit 50p and headed to eBay to list the coin for over £25,000 due to the ‘error’.
The listing stated that ‘There is a lump of metal attached to the foot as seen in the photo.‘ and that the seller believed this to be an error as they hadn’t seen anything similar online before.
Not the only one
A quick look on eBay shows several other listings for 2017 Peter Rabbit 50ps for similar amounts that also seem to have the ‘lump’ on Peter’s foot, meaning it isn’t a one-off.
Image Credit: eBay
Image Credit: eBay
The lump is most likely due to a cracked die being used during the striking process, causing the metal to pool. Other listings for the coin featuring this ‘error’ show different size ‘lumps’ under the foot, probably having been struck at different stages of die deterioration.
2015 First World War Navy £2 with ‘flag error’
This isn’t the first time we’ve seen a cracked die cause an error on a circulating coin. The 2015 First World War Navy £2 made waves when collectors started to notice that some versions of the coin looked to have a flying flag atop the mast of the ship.
A number of people wondered whether there were two different designs of the Navy £2, however it was later confirmed that the extra ‘flag’ was caused by a cracked die during minting.
Image credit: @coinpatrol on YouTube
You can check out our Myths and Mis strikes blog for more information on common errors to look out for.
So how much is a 2017 Peter Rabbit 50p with the lump worth?
It’s not known exactly how many 2017 Peter Rabbit 50ps have this ‘error’, so we can’t be sure how rare it truly is, however if you do have one in your collection, it could be considerably more sought-after than the original version.
Despite sellers listing these coins on eBay for ludicrous amounts, it’s worth remembering that these aren’t sold listings, and so no sale has actually gone through. It’s important to check ‘Sold listings’ on auction sites rather than active listings, as the price a coin is listed for may not be the actual price it sells for.
It’s worth remembering that your coin is only worth what someone is willing to pay for it, and there are several factors that can affect this. To get a better idea of how much your coin may be worth, check out our 6 Point Guide to Valuing Your Coins.
Secure one for your collection
If you’re missing the 2017 Peter Rabbit 50p from your collection, you can secure it in circulation quality for just £3.50 POSTFREE >>
Who knows, yours might even have the ‘error’!
Does your Paddington at the Palace 50p have the rare ‘crisp packet’ error?
It’s always exciting when a new coin ‘error’ or ‘mis strike’ is discovered, and I’ve just come across one I haven’t seen before – the Paddington at the Palace 50p ‘crisp packet’ error.
Paddington on UK Coins
Paddington Bear first appeared on UK coins in 2018, when 2 new 50ps were issued to celebrate 60 years since the beloved bear’s appearance in Michael Bond’s classic childhood tale. The first coin featured Paddington at his namesake train station, followed by him waving a flag in front of Buckingham Palace.
He continued his adventures around London in 2019 when a further 2 50ps were issued, showing Paddington in front of the Tower of London and St Paul’s Cathedral.
‘Crisp Packet’ Error
In the bottom left of the 2018 Paddington at the Palace 50p is a path in front of the Palace railings, just above the initials ‘DK’ for designer David Knapton.
Image Credit: @coinpatrol on YouTube
In the normal version of the coin (pictured above) a few solid lines and a dotted line appear on the path, however coins with the ‘crisp packet’ error show a small bubble underneath the left-most line.
Image Credit: @coinpatrol on YouTube
The ‘crisp packet error’, named so due to its resemblance to a crumpled up crisp packet, is thought to be due to a cracked die causing the metal to pool. The particular example pictured above was shared by Coin Patrol on YouTube and is suspected to have been struck toward the start of the minting process using the cracked die, however several other collectors have reported the error at different stages of die deterioration.
Image credits: josne-4158 on eBay, redelvis0077 on PicClick, @coinpatrol on YouTube
It’s not known how many Paddington at the Palace 50ps have this ‘error’, however if you have one in your collection, it could make the coin much more sought-after.
Not the first cracked die error
The 2015 First World War Navy £2 made waves when collectors started to notice that some versions of the coin looked to have a flying flag atop the mast of the ship.
A number of people wondered whether there were two different designs of the Navy £2, however it was later confirmed that the extra ‘flag’ was caused by a cracked die during minting.
Image credit: @coinpatrol on YouTube
Do you have any error coins in your collection?
If you’re lucky enough to have an error coin or mis strike in your collection, let us know in the comments!
You can check out our Myths and Mis strikes blog for more information on common ones to look out for.
Add the Paddington at the Palace 50p to your collection
Secure the 2018 Paddington at the Palace 50p in Brilliant Uncirculated quality >>
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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