Make sure you check for any errors that could add to the coins value, such as the wrong date or metal being used. Use our mintage charts and Scarcity Index to see how scarce the coin is and check our blogs to see if it has an interesting story that makes the coin more sought-after. For example, the Kew Gardens 50p has been in circulation for nearly 10 years, so a shiny Kew for sale on eBay is likely to be a fake unless it’s in the original packaging. The only way to know for certain that a coin is real is for it to be x-rayed, however there are some simple checks you can make yourself such as making sure the edge inscription and date matches the design and that the coin condition reflects the amount of time it’s been in circulation. Buyers will be willing to pay more for a coin on the secondary market if it is no longer on sale at The Royal Mint. Take a look online at The Royal Mint’s website and on our site to see if the coin can still be bought from an official distributor, as this will affect the price of the coin on the secondary market. Tip 2) Check if it can still be bought from official Royal Mint distributors Make sure you search for ‘sold listings’ when researching how much buyers are currently willing to pay to check that your coin is in line with this. Whilst coins can be listed on eBay for incredibly high prices, it doesn’t mean they will actually sell at this price. This categorical statement from the Mint means that any mark-up in price for a supposed ‘error’ is completely unjustified, and although it makes the coin more interesting, it is not the mistake which it is often perceived to be. The explanation from the Royal Mint is that the down-stroke of the R coincides with the milling around the edge, and as the coin has worn over time, the letter has become less defined. Sadly for collectors this is apparently not a striking error. The common factor here is the ‘R’ which appears as a ‘P’. The timeless quote “Remember, remember the fifth of November” has been found with various combinations of Pemember, Pemembep, Novemebep and so on. The 2005 Gunpowder Plot £2 commemorates the 400th anniversary of Guy Fawkes’ failed assassination attempt on King James I, but the coin is more familiar to collectors for having a spelling mistake in the edge inscription. Credit: eBayīut it’s not just Benjamin Britten – there are others… including the 2005 Gunpowder Plot ‘Pemember’ £2 and the 2012 Charles Dickens ‘error coin’, as well as the new coin releases such as the leaked Paddington 50p… Gunpowder Plot £2 ‘error’ Read our blog ‘So i thought my coin was worth £800…’ for more information.ĮBay listings for Benjamin Britten 50p. Whilst a brilliant uncirculated quality Benjamin Britten 50p might sell for around £10, you’re likely to come across a circulation quality coin in your change, as this 50p has a mintage figure of 5,300,000 and is ranked as common on our scarcity index. 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, but ask yourself this… would you pay £800 for one? In fact one of the most regular questions we get at Change Checker is: “I have a Benjamin Britten 50p – how much is it worth?“. We’ve seen this time and again, particularly for the 2013 Benjamin Britten 50p. How much is my Benjamin Britten 50p worth? Even if the coin does sell at that price, there is no guarantee that the sale will actually go through. But in reality, these coins are not usually worth the price they are listed for and are very unlikely to actually sell. When a coin is listed for excessive amounts it draws attention to itself and all it takes is for the press to pick up on it for more people to start believing that the coin really is valuable and so the story grows. Press articles citing coins listed for high prices on ebay

Ebay coins sale