An expert shared two specific details that make these coins especially valuable
Brits have been told to look out for two highly-sought after coins that are still in circulation. These pieces combined could be worth more than £3,000 to collectors.
At first glance these coins may appear ordinary but two small features make them especially valuable. In a video uploaded to social media platform TikTok, an expert known as the Coin Collecting Wizard shared two coins to spot.
Firstly, he explained more about a 50p coin from 2011. This piece was created to mark the 2012 London Olympics.
Known as the aquatics coin, it depicts a swimmer on its reverse side – also known as the tail side. He said: “The aquatics 50p coin from the 2011 London Olympic series is one of the rarest and most sought after 50p coins among collectors thanks to a striking error on an early version.”
However, it is only the version in which water lines are seen over the swimmer’s face that is valuable. He continued: “The design which features a swimmer in water originally showed lines of water crossing over the swimmer’s face.
“This was quickly corrected by the Royal Mint with later coins showing the swimmer’s face clearly without lines over it. Only a small number of the original ‘lines over face’ coins were released into circulation before the change, making them extremely rare and highly valuable, with examples selling for hundreds or even thousands of pounds at auction.
“If you’re lucky enough to find one in your change, it’s definitely worth holding on to.” In August last year an example of this coin sold at online auction for £3,766.
Next, the expert alerted his followers to a valuable 20p coin. This coin is particularly unusual due to the fact it does not show its date year of 2008.
He said: “The famous undated 20p coin is a rare and valuable error from 2008, caused when the Royal Mint accidentally struck some coins with the new obverse front showing the Queen’s head alongside the old reverse back design of the Tudor Rose, which didn’t include a date.
“As a result these coins were released into circulation without any date at all making them Britain’s first undated circulating coin in over 300 years. It’s estimated that around 200,000 of these slipped into circulation.”
This rare 20p coin can be sold for around £50 on average, although they do sell for much higher. One was sold £203 in March this year and another fetched £172 in the same month.