POCKET CHANGE

Rarest and most valuable 10p, 50p and £2 coins revealed – do you have one worth £337?

Lynsey Barber

Published: 11:58, 14 Aug 2021
Updated: 10:34, 19 Sep 2023

CHANGE in your pocket could be worth hundreds of pounds if it turns out to be a rare coin.

The most valuable 10p, 50p and £2 coins have been revealed with some hard to find coins worth much more than their face value.

Some coins are worth much more than their face value

According to the latest scarcity index, which tracks the most sought after coins in circulation, the last three months has seen some big jumps.

The index is based on how many of each design are listed as “collected” by ChangeChecker users and the number of times they've been requested as a swap.

It’s worth noting that some collectors also value the mintage of coins, meaning how many have been made, but this is something the index doesn't take into account.

Remember too that coins are only ever worth what someone is willing to pay for them, so you aren’t guaranteed these prices.

You may find that coins that are lower in the index sell for more than those higher up.

If a collector needs one last coin to complete their line-up they might be willing to pay more than it usually goes for.

If you come across an unusual coin in your spare change, it's worth checking if it could be worth something.

Here are the top coins that are in demand at the moment - and what to do if you find one.

The rarest 10p coin - worth up to £8

We have seen this go for more and back in May one sold for £14.50 on the marketplace.

The R for Robin 10p also , as did the

The World Wide Web coin is the 10p with the lowest mintage and just 63,000 were made.

The rarest 50p coins - worth up to £337

is still the most sought after among collectors, according to the index.

The coin can go for much more than its 50p face value and a recent listing shows someone bought it for £337.

It's not clear if the coin has been circulated or not, but says it comes in sealed packaging.

The 50p coin features the Chinese Pagoda at the famous London landmark and is one of the rarest coins out there because there’s so few of them.

, and appear to have been circulated as they have some marks on.

Only 1,163,500 Olympic coins were put into circulation in 2011 to celebrate the London 2012 Olympic Games.

The rarest £2 coins - worth up to £60

The second most valuable £2 coin is the England version of the same design which fetches up to if it's been in circulation.

Third placed on the index for scarce £2 coins is the Scotland version of the Commonwealth coin

Scarcity index for 10p, 50p and £2

CHANGECHECKER's scarcity index ranks the coins between 1 and 100 to indicate how hard they are to find and how in demand they are.

The higher the number the more scarce they are and more likely to be more valuable. Here are the top 10 for each coin according to the latest ranking.

10p

W for World Wide Web (100)
R for Robin (93)
Y for Yeoman (87)
Z for Zebra Crossing (84)
Q for Queue (7)
M for Mackintosh (4)
N for NHS (3)
U for Union Jack (3)
A for Angel of the North (2)
F for Fish and Chips (2)

50p

Kew Gardens (100)
Triathlon (90)
Football (86)
Wrestling (86)
Judo (82)
Goalball (60)
Tennis (57)
Gymnastics (54)
Sailing (54)
Table Tennis (54)

£2

Commonwealth Games Northern Ireland (100)
Commonwealth Games England (82)
Commonwealth Games Scotland (71)
Olympic handover (71)
London 2012 handover (67)
2015 First World War Navy (66)
Commonwealth Games Wales (56)
Olympic Centenary (55)
King James Bible (46)
London Underground Roundel (43)

What makes a coin more valuable?

Generally, collectors look at the mintage figures of a coin to assess its value.

Rather than just basing a coin's value on the rarity, Changechecker.org looks at two other key pieces of information.

This includes how many of each coin are listed as "collected" by members of the site, which indicates the relative ease of finding a particular coin.

The experts also track the number of times a design has been requested as a swap over the previous three months, showing the current level of collector demand.

While the index doesn't necessarily correspond to value, it is an effective indicator.

How do I find out what my coin is worth?

If you're lucky enough to pick up a rare coin in your spare change, it could go for hundreds of pounds depending on how rare it is.

You should check how much the coin is selling for on eBay.

Search the full name of the coin, select the "sold" listing and then toggle the search to "highest value".

It will give you an idea of the amount of money that the coin is going for.

You can either choose to sell the coin on eBay or through a specialist such as ChangeChecker.org.

You can also use an online tool that gives you an estimate of how much it could be worth on eBay, as well as any other rare coins you have.

gives you an estimated valuation of your coin based on the average of the most recent sales, as well as a range of how much you can expect it to fetch.

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