Posts Tagged ‘Rare’
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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The Diamond Jubilee coin that never was
It has been revealed that a special six-sided coin was very nearly released to commemorate one of the most significant celebrations in British history – the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee.
The coin was on the verge of being created and almost sent off for Royal approval when the proposal was rejected by senior staff at the Royal Mint.
Along with the selection of different £5 coins that were issued by the Royal Mint to mark the momentous occasion in 2012, this six-sided coin with a denomination of 60p could have also been part of the collection.
Although the Royal Mint has refused to release an image of the proposed coin, it has been revealed it would have been a bi-colour coin and issued as a commemorative collectable rather than for general circulation.
We almost had a 60p coin and it would have looked like a coin gone mad https://t.co/JpFp0vtYAv pic.twitter.com/eWNmWNmVkt
— Mike Wright (@MikeJGWright) December 31, 2015
Unfortunately the idea for the coin was abandoned as papers from the Royal Mint Advisory Committee has revealed the commemorative coin programme was already ‘sufficiently comprehensive’.
It has been assumed the Royal Mint believed the coin would be of great public interest to mark an event of huge national importance and in a letter to Mr Osbourne in 2011, suggested the occasion should be marked with more than one type of commemorative coin.
So what do you think? Would you have liked to see a 6 sided 60p coin issued in celebration for the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee or were you happy with the coins released?
Let us know your thoughts via Facebook, Twitter or comment below!
The story of the undated 20p
It’s regarded by many as the Holy Grail of change collecting, and back in 2008, the undated 20p saga encouraged an entire country to start carefully checking their coins. In fact plenty of collectors are still doing just that in the hope of finding one.
Online sellers have set prices sky high, with one seller asking for an astonishing £10m for the the coin! However, although these chancers are unlikely to see their coin actually selling for that price, some people have been willing to pay in the thousands for the chance to own one of these rare coins.
The story of the coin
If you’re not familiar with the story of the undated 20p, this is it:
In 2008, the reverse of each denomination from 1p to £1 was redesigned by Matthew Dent to feature a different part of the Royal Arms Shield. The 20p had previously included the date on the reverse, but with the entire face of the coin now devoted to the new design, the Royal Mint produced a new die with the date on the obverse (Queen’s head) side.
However, when the new Royal Shield 20p coins were struck for circulation, the old die was accidentally used, meaning a batch was issued with no date on either side of the coin.
Coins with mismatched sides like these are known in the collecting world as ‘mules’ – the name deriving from the hybrid offspring of a horse and a donkey. Mule coins are always highly coveted, but they rarely receive the kind of mainstream media attention afforded to the undated 20p.
The undated 20p was the first coin issued for circulation in over 300 years without a date on either side
The first for 300 years
The undated 20p became the first coin in over 300 years to enter circulation without a date, and when the story broke in the press, it caused a frenzy not just in the collecting world but amongst the general public who realised they stood just as good a chance as anyone of pulling one out of their change.
Estimates have varied over the years but The Royal Mint confirmed in a statement that no more than 250,000 coins made it into circulation.
Various stories in the media helped to fuel wild estimates of the value of an undated 20p
Stories from numerous media outlets fuelled rumours about the coin’s value. Experts suggest that the faulty 20ps could be worth £50 each, however sellers on eBay listed the coins for thousands, with one lucky seller fetching a colossal £7,100 (35,500 times face value).
Of course, a coin with such a high mintage could never really be worth that sort of figure, and in recent years the average selling price for an undated 20p has levelled off. Nowadays they normally sell for around the £50 mark which I’m sure you’ll agree is still not a bad return for a 20p coin!
In terms of rarity, you are approximately twice as likely to find an undated 20p as you are the famous Kew Gardens 50p. However, ordinarily an undated 20p will sell for more. But why?
The reason quite simply is that everyone loves a good story.
The fact that the coin only exists by way of a freak accident really adds to its appeal, and makes it a collector’s item in every sense of the term. So remember to have a good look at your 20p next time you’ve got one in your hand. A flip of your coin could be worth a lot more than you thought.
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– Find and identify the coins in their pocket
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