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How 50p coin was sold for 32 TIMES its value due to rare design – check your change now
Scroll down to find out what the rarest and most valuable coins are
A FIFTY pence piece was sold for 32 times its value due to a rare design.
Leading up to the 2012 Olympic Games in London, coins were released featuring images of athletes participating in a variety of sports.
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One even explained the offside rule in football.
And with just weeks to go before this summer's tournament in Paris, one of those London 50p offside coins has sold for £16 on eBay, reports
As a result, Brits are being advised to check through any of their souvenirs or memorabilia from previous Olympic Games as they could be worth a lot of money.
The coin was described as "unique" by the seller, from Warrington. It shows part of a pitch and an example of players on and offside.
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The 2012 Olympic Games logo can also be seen at the top.
The coin launched a mini bidding war. The same design previously sold for £32.
A coin is only ever worth what someone is willing to pay for it at the time.
A collector may be willing to pay more for one that completes a collection, for example.
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Interest in different coins can also change over time, meaning the price can change over time too.
What are the rarest 50p coins?
The 2012 Olympics Games collection of 50p coins are some of the rarest ever produced by the Royal Mint.
The Royal Mint launched 29 new 50p coins featuring various sports in the games in honour of the 2012 Olympics in London.
The wrestling, football and judo coins saw just 1.1 million released each.
According to ChangeChecker.org, the football coin is the rarest, with just 1,125,000 entering circulation.
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Even more than a decade later, it's worth having a dig down the back of your sofa as each of the copies is rare and could be worth up to £570.
It's worth mentioning that this Olympic aquatics coin had the original design, which showed waves passing over the swimmer's face before it was quickly adapted.
In the past, the rare aquatics coin has sold for almost £1,000.
The Royal Mint estimates that over 75% of the Olympic 50p coins have been removed from circulation by collectors, pushing their value up.
Check out our guide on how much each of the rarest Olympic 50ps are worth.
The rarest is the Kew Gardens design, released in 2009, with only 210,000 produced.
It sells for an average of £156.25 on average, though one eBay seller got over £700.
Generally, the lower a coin's mintage figure, the more you will be able to sell it for in an auction, on eBay or Facebook Marketplace.
But this isn't always the case and some coins have been known to sell for more than others despite more having been put into circulation.
You can find out what a coin's mintage figure is by going on The Royal Mint's website.
Meanwhile, some coins are also considered rare when there was a mistake in the manufacturing process.
These are commonly known as "error" coins, and there are usually just a few in circulation.
The coin to fetch the most in the Olympic range in recent months is the Aquatics error coin though, which sold for £150.
What are the most rare and valuable coins?
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The error in the design makes it more valuable to collectors, just like several other rare error coins out there too.
Otherwise, the 2012 aquatics coin with the updated design is one of the more highly circulated coins with 2,197,000 released.
How to sell a rare coin
You can sell a rare coin on eBay, Facebook, or in an auction.
If you're selling on Facebook, there are risks attached.
Sellers have previously been targeted by scammers on Facebook saying they want to buy a rare coin and asking for money up front for a courier to pick it up.
But it's a ruse to get money out of you and the courier is never sent.
To avoid this happening, it's always best to meet a Facebook seller in-person when buying or selling anything.
Ensure it's a public meeting spot that's in a well-lit area and if you can, avoid using payment links.
Most sellers prefer to deal with cash directly when meeting to ensure it's legitimate.
The safest way to sell a rare coin is more than likely at auction. You can organise this with The Royal Mint's Collectors Service.
It has a team of experts who can help you authenticate and value your coin.
You can get in touch via email and a member of the valuation team will get back to you.
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You will be charged for the service though - the cost varies depending on the size of your collection.
You can also sell rare coins on eBay.
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