The Salmon 50p makes waves in our December 2024 eBay Tracker update!

So you’ve found a rare coin or banknote in your change and are wondering ‘how much could it be worth?’ It’s difficult to determine a coin’s value as the secondary market can be a bit of a minefield, so we’ve done the hard work for you.

Our eBay Tracker is an easy way for you to see how much the top 10 UK coins and banknotes are selling for right now, and with a new rarest 50p in circulation – it’s worth keeping an eye on!

You might notice that your favourite coin or banknote that we’ve tracked in the past is missing, but you can always check out our previous eBay Tracker updates to see how their value has changed over time. 


eBay Tracker

Since our last update, there’s been one major change to the collecting world – the announcement that we now have a NEW rarest UK 50p! It was revealed in October 2024 that the 2023 Salmon 50p had a circulating mintage of just 200,000, meaning it knocks the 2009 Kew Gardens 50p off the top spot!

2023 Salmon 50p

An estimated 500,000 Salmon 50ps entered circulation in November 2023, however, collectors were finding them hard to come by. Later, in October 2024, it was announced that the official mintage figure was just 200,000 – 10,000 less than the Kew Gardens 50p! This meant that for the first time in 15 years, we had a new rarest UK 50p!

The 2023 Salmon 50p is now the UK’s rarest circulating 50p

We added the Salmon 50p to our eBay Tracker back in June 2024 as it was one of the newest coins to enter circulation. Back then you could get your hands on one on the secondary market for under £15, however now that we know just how rare it is, it’s selling for around £85 – that’s a 477% increase on average!

Kew Gardens 50p

Now the second rarest 50p in circulation, the Kew Gardens 50p can still fetch hefty amounts on the secondary market. Don’t forget, it’s had 15 years to stake its claim as the pinnacle of collecting, so even though it’s no longer the rarest in terms of mintage, the Kew Gardens 50p is still incredibly sought after.

The average secondary market value for a Kew Gardens 50p has decreased by £3 since our last update, but you’d still be looking to pay nearly £150 for one – that’s 300 times its face value!

The 2009 Kew Gardens 50p is now the second rarest 50p in circulation

Undated 20p

The undated 20p is often thought of as the ‘holy grail of change collecting’, as it’s not been confirmed just how many of these error coins made it into circulation. As one of the most sought-after coins, it’s at the top of many collectors’ wish lists, and some are willing to pay up to £64 to get their hands on one.

That’s a 28% increase since our last eBay Tracker update in June 2024, so it’s definitely worth checking your 20ps!

Undated 20p
Undated 20p

W (World Wide Web) 10p

The A-Z of Great Britain 10p series was first issued in 2018, with a 10p representing something quintessentially British for each letter of the alphabet. A second wave of these 10ps was issued in 2019, and out of all of them, the 2019 W for World Wide Web 10p has the lowest mintage figure of just 63,000!

According to our eBay Tracker, you can expect to pay around £6 for a W 10p on the secondary market, which is a 33% increase since our last update. Not a bad return on a 10p coin!

The 2019 ‘W’ for World Wide Web 10p is the rarest of the entire A-Z 10p series

The first ever King Charles III Banknotes

The first ever King Charles III banknotes entered circulation on 5th June 2024, and as they’ll only be issued to replace worn or damaged Queen Elizabeth II going forward, they’ve inevitably become extremely sought after by collectors.

The first King Charles III Banknotes entered circulation on 5th June 2024

Whilst the median selling price for a King Charles III £10 banknote has remained essentially the same since our last eBay Tracker update, a King Charles III £5 will cost you 61% less than 6 months ago. If you’re missing a King Charles III £5 note from your collection, now might be a good time to get one on the secondary market for under £10.


Valuation Index

Using the total price of the coins and banknotes tracked, the Valuation Index follows the rise and fall of their overall value, measured in points against the baseline set in January 2017.

Change Checker Valuation Index

Since the last update in June 2024, there’s been an 18% overall increase in the value of the Top 10 coins and banknotes on the eBay Tracker. But bear in mind that the coins and banknotes tracked were updated in June 2024, as represented by the vertical dotted line on the graph.


eBay Tracker FAQs

How does the eBay Tracker work?

The Change Checker eBay Tracker takes the last 9 sold prices on eBay and gives the median price achieved. By taking the median, rather than an average, we avoid skewing figures with excessively high or low prices.

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.

My coin isn’t on the eBay Tracker

The eBay Tracker follows the movements of the top UK coins and banknotes, however if your coin doesn’t appear on the tracker you can use our 6 point guide to help determine the realistic value for your coin.


Find out more about your coins

If you’re interested in coin collecting, our Change Checker web app is completely free to use!

Sign up to the Change Checker App now >>

Britain has a new RAREST 50p! Could it be in your pocket?

Hold on to your wallets, Britain! There’s a NEW rarest 50p in circulation, and it’s just knocked the legendary Kew Gardens 50p off the top spot – for the FIRST TIME in 15 years!

Introducing the Salmon 50p, and you won’t believe how scarce it is. Only a jaw-dropping 200,000 of these coins were released into circulation in November 2023. That means just ONE in 335 people in the UK could have the chance of snagging one. Is it sitting in your pocket right now?

Only 200,000 2023 dated Salmon 50ps entered circulation

Something fishy is going on…

Collectors are in a frenzy, desperately scouring their change to get their hands on this rare beauty before it’s too late. And some lucky few have already struck gold, listing their Salmon 50p coins on eBay for as much as £23 to £50. That’s more than 50 TIMES its face value!

Collectors have already been paying a pretty penny for a circulating Salmon 50p on the secondary market

But hold on tight – with this latest shocking revelation, those prices are expected to skyrocket!

*UPDATE*

Since the news broke this morning, the price of Salmon 50ps on the secondary market have soared, with some selling for nearly £150!


Rarer than the Kew Gardens 50p

If you thought the Kew Gardens 50p was the ultimate collector’s item with only 210,000 in circulation, think again! That coin, regularly fetching £150 to £250 on the secondary market, has even hit the dizzying heights of £1,000 in listings! The new Salmon 50p is hot on its tail, and it could be worth even more in the months to come.

And here’s the best part – You could have one in your change right now!

While the Kew Gardens 50p has had 15 years for collectors to squirrel it away, the Salmon 50p is fresh out of the water – meaning this could be your best chance to snap up the UK’s new rarest coin. Imagine if you had grabbed a Kew Gardens 50p back in 2009, knowing how prized it would become… Now, the Salmon 50p offers you a second chance at coin-collecting glory!

The 2023 Salmon 50p is 1.05 times rarer than the Kew Gardens 50p

The race is on!

With a mintage of just 200,000, this new king of coins firmly takes the throne, leaving the Kew Gardens 50p in the dust.

The race is truly on to track one down, will you be one of the lucky collectors to find the new ‘holy grail’ of change collecting before its too late? Best of luck everyone, and happy hunting!


Secure the collector’s edition

If you haven’t been lucky enough to find a Salmon 50p in the wild, don’t worry! You can still secure the Brilliant Uncirculated version for your collection, alongside SEVEN other new King Charles III coins in the New UK Coinage Set.

What’s more, the coins in this set feature a special privy mark on the obverse, setting them apart from the ones you’ll find in your change.

Secure the set for just £32.50 (+p&p) >>

Could your King Charles III Banknote be worth £17,000?

Whenever new banknotes are issued, it causes quite a stir in the collecting community, with serious collectors rushing to secure the notes with the lowest serial numbers.

The Bank of England generally hold back some of the notes with the earliest serial numbers, donating them to the monarch, people or institutions that were involved in the development of the note, but others can fetch hefty sums at auction!

Notes under the hammer

Spink & Sons recently held four auctions for each denomination of the new King Charles III banknotes to raise funds for charity, and a whopping £914,127 was raised overall!

A selection of King Charles III Banknotes

The proceeds from the auctions will be shared between 10 charities that have been chosen by the Bank of England:

  • Childhood Trust
  • The Trussell Trust
  • Shout
  • Carers UK
  • Demelza
  • WWF-UK
  • The Brain Tumour Charity
  • London’s Air Ambulance Charity
  • Child Bereavement UK
  • The Samaritans

At the auction for the King Charles III £10 banknotes, a single £10 note with the serial number HB01 000002 sold for an astonishing £17,000!

The £50 banknote auction even broke the record for the highest lot sold in a Bank of England banknote auction. A sheet of 40 £50 banknotes sold for £26,000 – 13 times their face value!

Which serial numbers should you be looking out for?

Whilst the very first banknotes aren’t released into general circulation, there are other serial numbers that are also considered collectable.

JMW Turner £20 Notes

As the polymer £20 note featured JMW Turner on the reverse, some serial numbers matching key dates relating to the painter became highly collectible. For example, 23 041775 represents Turner’s date of birth, whilst 19 121851 relates to his death and 17 751851 would be his birth and death combined.

JMW Turner features on the £20 note.
Image Credit: Bank of England

True Turner fans might also look for 18 381839 representing the date he painted ‘The Fighting Temeraire’ (which featured on the new £20 note) and the date the painting was exhibited at the Royal Academy respectively.

Alan Turing £50 Notes

The £50 note features famous scientist and mathematician, Alan Turing, and similarly to the £20 note, certain serial numbers matching key dates relating to Alan Turing became collectable.

The Polymer £50 note features famous scientist and mathematician, Alan Turing
Image Credit: Bank of England

Serial numbers such as 23 061912 (which represents Turing’s date of birth), 07 061954 (which relates to his death) and 09 071941 (which represents the date that the enigma code was cracked by Turing and his team at Bletchley Park during WW2) are all ones to look out for. .

Others include AK47, due to the machine gun connotations, and 007 which could be desirable to James Bond fans.

The hunt is on!

With this news that King Charles III banknotes have recently sold for much more than face value, the hunt is on to find others with interesting or collectable serial numbers.

If you’ve come across any King Charles III banknotes, let us know in the comments where you found it and whether it’s got an interesting or rare serial number!


Safely store your banknote collection

If you do have any King Charles III banknotes in your collection that you don’t fancy parting with, you can securely store them in the Change Checker Complete Polymer Banknote Collecting Pack, which now includes spaces for King Charles III banknotes!

Secure your Complete Polymer Banknote Collecting Pack >>