A rare coin expert has highlighted three coins that have been in circulation for several years that could be worth a sizeable sum due to minting errors.
The Coin Collecting Wizard took to TikTok tp point out two different £2 coins and one 50p piece that are worth much more than their monetary value as a result of the anomalies. The first concerns £2 coins minted in 2015.
“Everyone is being urged to carry out a simple test for the error that could make the coin much more valuable,” the expert advised. To check for this, flip the coin – if the ‘Two Pounds’ inscription on the back is upside down relative to Queen Elizabeth II’s portrait, you might have hit the jackpot.
Another sought-after £2 piece is the Lord Kitchener World War 1 centenary coin, of which more than five million were produced in 2014. This coin bears an image of Field Marshal Horatio Herbert Kitchener and the iconic call to action, ‘Your Country Needs You’ on the reverse.
On the obverse side, a missing ‘Two Pounds’ inscription under the Queen’s bust could mean your coin is worth £1,000 at auction. The wizard also mentioned another rotation error, this time on the Benjamin Bunny 50p from the 2017 Beatrix Potter series. “The same rule applies when looking out for this error,” he concluded.
Indeed, if the bust of Queen Elizabeth II on the obverse side of the coin doesn’t align with the character image on the reverse, then your coin could be highly sought after by collectors.
Earlier this week, a second expert encouraged people to keep an eye out for a rare new coin that is already fetching £250 on auction websites. Although it hasn’t entered general circulation yet, it could eventually find its way into your change.
The coin in question is a £2 piece celebrating the works of author George Orwell, featuring an eye on the reverse and the message ‘Big Brother is watching you’, referencing his novel 1984. On January 20, several of these coins were minted with a noticeable error in the inscription along the edge. This happened during a Royal Mint Experience tour where attendees were invited to strike their own coin.
Coin Collector UK posted on TikTok at the time: “£250 for a newly discovered error coin. Yesterday approximately 60 error £2 coins were produced at the Royal Mint with the incorrect edge inscription. Collectors who visited the Royal Mint Experience yesterday for their strike your owns were quick to notice an error on their new £2.”
And he elaborated: “Every £2 coin has different edge lettering relating to the design. And the old flora blanks were still being used from the previous day. This meant that George Orwell was stamped on £2 coins with the incorrect edge inscription reading, ‘in servitio omnium’ instead of ‘there was truth and there was untruth’.”
