Brits told to check £1 coins ‘closely’ for mark making them worth over £60

An expert has urged the British public to examine their £1 coins closely before parting with them, as certain rare pieces could be worth a significant sum to collectors. These coveted coins may possess a barely noticeable mark that increases their value to over £60 each.

The coin in question is one of the initial batch of the new 12-sided £1 coins produced by the Royal Mint. Although these coins officially entered circulation in 2017, some were minted in the preceding year.

A coin expert, known as the Coin Collecting Wizard on the social media platform TikTok, shed light on this intriguing detail. He advised: “Wait, before you spend that £1 coin, check it carefully as one of them is worth £60.”

He elaborated: “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?”

For the coin to be particularly valuable, it must feature a small crosslet mark. The expert added: “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.”

He pointed out: “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 explained more about the coin, highlighting: “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 advised that the minuscule mark might be easily overlooked, noting: “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.”