You may not realise but an ordinary £1 coin in your wallet could be worth more than 60 times its face value.
An expert has encouraged Brits to check their £1 coins carefully before spending them. These sought-after pieces could feature an almost hidden mark that makes them worth more than £60 each to collectors.
The coin in question was among the first of the new type of 12-sided £1 coins created by the Royal Mint. While these coins were first released into circulation in 2017, a number of them were also minted a year earlier.
An expert, known online as the Coin Collecting Wizard, explained more on social media platform TikTok. He said: “Wait, before you spend that £1 coin, check it carefully as one of them is worth £60.
“This is the new £1 coin introduced in March 2017 to replace the old round pound. But did you know some of these coins were actually minted in 2016, making them extra special?”
However, to make this coin especially valuable it needs to bear a tiny crosslet mark. The expert continued: “Most 2016 £1 coins look the same as the later ones but some of them have a tiny cross-led cross privy mark near the bottom left.
“This mark was added only for special sets and only a limited number of coins have it. This tiny crosslet cross can be found just below the design near the rim of the coin.”
Check Your Change clarifies that the coins with this mark were sold as part of a pair set from the Royal Mint in 2016. It says: “The Royal Mint sold a pair of 2016 coins (this one and the ‘last round pound’) in a card pack including a tiny cross-crosslet mint mark on the 12-sided coin.
“The mint mark is located under the left hand side of the crown, approximately opposite to where the DP initials appear on the other side. The coin with the mint mark was only made available within this package of coins.”
The coin collector warned that the tiny mark is hard to spot. He added: “It’s easy to miss but collectors are willing to pay big money for it. So what’s it worth?
“A regular 2016 £1, just £1, but if yours has this special privy mark it can sell for £60 with some listings even higher. So go check your £1 coins right now. If you find a 2016 one look closely because this tiny detail could turn your spare change into serious cash.”