Delivery driver finds rare silver 2p coin in his spare change and it could be worth £1,350
A DELIVERY driver looking through his spare change has discovered a silver 2p that could be worth as much as £1,350.
The coin is silver because of an error that occurred during the minting process, and it is extremely rare.
David Allan, 54, said he was in disbelief when he found the coin amongst his change, so immediately sought to research it.
He quickly discovered that the silver piece was a "mule coin" made in error by the Royal Mint.
The delivery driver from Portchester got the coin after shopping in Portsmouth, and he plans on selling it, should it be verified by the Royal Mint.
Flogging it could bag him up to £1,350, as a previous silver 2p coin sold for this amount a year ago.
The rare coin was found in a Royal British Legion Poppy Appeal tin in Malmesbury, Wiltshire, and was initially believed to be a fake.
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But when volunteers took it to a bank, staff suggested that they send it to the Royal Mint – which revealed it was as a rare misprinted coin worth a small fortune.
The coin was bought by a collectable coin company called The Westminster Collection, after it was verified as real by the Royal Mint.
It said that the error was made because somehow a 10p "blank" found its way into the presses and a 2p was accidentally struck onto it.
According to Yasmin Britton from the website Change Checker, there have only been a handful of reports of people finding silver 2p coins, and "it is possible that more could be found as it is accidental".
She said that if David's coin is confirmed as genuine, it is likely to sell at auction for the same or close to £1,350 like the other error 2ps have.
In 2014, a man sold his silver copper for £1,357, while in 2015 another was sold for £802 in an online auction.
But with any rare coin, it is only valuable if someone is willing to pay for it.
While there are lots of collectors on eBay, you might have better luck at a physical auction. If you do try eBay, make sure to set a minimum price of what you're happy to get for it, so that it doesn't sell for less.
Silver 2ps aren't the only valuable error coins in circulation - there are several that are worth up to £1,000, and they could be in your spare change.
For example, there's the Guy Fawkes £2 which says “Pemember, Pemember the Fifth of November” instead of “Remember, Remember” and is worth around £15, and the undated 20p coin which is worth around £200.
WHAT TO DO IF YOU'VE GOT A RARE COIN
FIRSTLY, you need to make sure the coin is legit and not counterfeit. The Royal Mint is unable to value a coin but it can confirm whether it is real or not.
They will usually supply you with a letter to confirm this. Once you’ve found out whether the coin is real or not, you have a number of options – either selling it through a coin dealer, at auction or on eBay.
If you want to sell the coin you’ve found in your spare change on eBay then you need to know the risks.
Remember to set a minimum price that is higher or at the very least equal to the face value of the coin.
Even if your coin “sells” on eBay for a high price there’s no guarantee that the buyer will cough out.
It its terms and conditions, the auction website states that bidders enter a “legally binding contract to purchase an item”, but there’s no way to enforce this rule in reality.
For more information about what to do if you’ve found a rare coin, read our guide
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