eBay bidding war sees rare 20p coin selling for more than 1,000 times its face value

Spending cash can be a rare thing these days but when we do we can be handed a mass of coins in our change. And while many of us don’t give them a second glance it is always worth giving them a quick check over.

For if you get lucky you might have been given a rare coin – and if you spot it you might find it is worth a lot more than its face value. According the the Daily Star one lucky owner of a rare coin managed to get more than a thousand times the face value of a 20p piece they had.

Some rare coins can be hard to spot, but if you find you have one with a mistake – or minting error – it could be worth thousands. One 20p fetched more than 1,000 times its face value following a week-long bidding war on eBay.

The coin was minted back in 1983 onto a copper coloured blank by mistake, resulting in a very rare bronze 20p. The owner was intrigued by it so sent it off to the Royal Mail in 2016.

Then they managed to make a huge profit after five would-be buyers made a total of 28 bids when it was listed on eBay. And when it sold, it managed to scoop £232, which is over 1,000 times its face value.

If you’re ever in doubt it’s always worth taking your coin to experts to get it valued. In this case, the collector decided to send it off to the Royal Mint which they found out was worth much more than 20p.

Anyone can list a coin on eBay and charge however much they want but it’s worth doing some research first. The value of a coin can depend on many things, like minting errors or its rarity.

Coins with errors could be worth a small fortune because very few of these make it into circulation. You could earn money from these coins by selling them at auction, online or in person, or through a dealer.

The price of a coin varies based on things like demand at the time and how common it is. Recently, a “very rare” Kew Gardens 50p coin had over 32 bids and sold for £165.

The Kew Gardens 50p is one of the most sought-after coins with millions of Brits eager to get their hands on one. Just 210,000 of the coins made it into circulation since its release date back in 2009. The coin features the famous Chinese Pagoda at the iconic London landmark.