PENNY FOR YOUR THOUGHTS
THE rise of rare banknotes and coins has left Brits scrambling through their wallets in the hunt of valuable currency.
The launch of the 12-sided £1 coin and the release of the plastic fivers sparked a craze for finding limited-edition money selling beyond its "street value" on eBay. But what should you look out for?
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Which £5 notes are worth the most?
Tiny portraits of author Jane Austen were added to four of the new £5 notes by micro-engraver Graham Short - and if you’ve got one it could be worth £50,000, art experts say.
The outline of the golden engraving is visible to the naked eye – but a microscope will be needed to see it properly.
Three of the four released have been accounted for, but one of the valuable plastic fivers remain – and it could be anywhere!
Classic quotes from Emma, Pride and Prejudice, and Mansfield Park have been engraved on to the rare Bank of England notes.
But it was revealed that there could be a fifth valuable fiver also out there.
Previously, fivers with an AK47 serial number have been sold for thousands of pounds online.
SERIAL NUMBERS AND QUOTES ON THE £5 NOTES WORTH OVER £50,000
- "If I loved you less, I might be able to talk about it more" - Emma Serial number: AM32 885551
- "To be fond of dancing was a certain step towards falling in love" - Pride and Prejudice Serial number: AM32 885552
- "A large income is the best recipe for happiness I ever heard of" - Mansfield Park Serial number: AM32 885553
- "I hope I never ridicule what is wise or good" - Pride and Prejudice Serial number: AM32 885
Which are the rarest £2 coins?
A small number of 2015 Britannia £2 coins showing the Queen’s head upside down are in circulation, and they could be worth a small fortune.
Just 1 in around 200 of the coins show the Queen’s head rotated clockwise by around 150 degrees, making it a pretty rare find.
The Royal Mint said the misalignment was “almost certainly the result of one of the dies working loose and rotating during the striking process”.
In recent weeks a number of "inverted effigy" Britannia £2 coins were sold eBay for between £77 and £100.
Similarly rare £2 coins with errors on them – such as one released in 2007 to mark the 200th anniversary of the 1807 Abolition Of The Slave Trade – have been offered on the auction site for £300.
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Is the round pound worth hundreds of pounds?
Since the new £1 coin was launched in March, hundreds of the 2016 coins have been listed on eBay.
The sellers say they are rare, claiming they have been misprinted with the 2016 date.
The truth is that they aren’t rare or deemed valuable by collectors.
But there is a chance that in future the 2016 dated coin may become sought after by collectors.
Which are the most valuable £1 coins?
Edinburgh £1
There are currently 24 different £1 coin designs in circulation.
The rarest of these is the Edinburgh city 2011 £1 coin, which can be flogged from £6.75.
Even though this isn't a huge mark-up, the coins have previously sold for up to £128 on eBay.
The Edinburgh design is the only £1 coin with a mintage below one million - with 935,000 coins in circulation.
It was created as part of a series of £1 coins depicting the capital cities of the UK.
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Cardiff £1
Another coin released as part of the capital cities of the UK series was the Cardiff £1.
There are 1.6million Cardiff coins in circulation, and they sell for around £20 on eBay.
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London £1
Also part of the city series and the third rarest £1 coin in circulation is the 2010 London pound.
The coin shows the portrait of the Queen and on the reverse side shows the four official badges of the capital cities of the UK, with a magnified image of the badge of London.
There are around 2.6million in circulation, and they'll fetch around £10 online.
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According to blog ChangeChecker.org, £1 coins will be getting rarer by the day as they start to be removed from circulation once the new 12-sided coin is released on 28 March.
A spokesperson said: “And, come 15 October, one thing is for certain, any collector looking to own a £1 coin collection will be paying a premium.
“So don’t just spend your £1 coins. Check them. Rather than being worthless come 15 October, they may have even more value to collectors – especially if you own a particularly scarce £1 coin.”
Which are the most valuable 50p coins?
Kew Gardens 50p
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Currently, the rarest coin of any denomination is the Kew Gardens 50p.
There are just 210,000 of the commemorative 50p pieces – which celebrates the 250th anniversary of the Royal Botanical Gardens – in circulation, making them hugely valuable.
Kew Garden coins sell on online auction site eBay for as much as £120.
London 2012 Olympics 50p
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To celebrate the 2012 London Olympics, The Royal Mint released a 50p piece with 29 difference designs – but some were produced more than others.
If you’ve managed to collect a full set of coins, you could fetch around £35 at auction, or if you possess a football, wheelchair rugby, wrestling and tennis piece you could be looking at £3-4.
But one London Olympics coin is worth gold if you have it – the original aquatic coin, which shows water passing directly over the swimmer’s face.
There were only 600 coins created before the design changed slightly to show the swimmer’s face more clearly. If you have one with lines over the face it could fetch more than £100 on eBay.
Jemima Puddle-Duck 50p
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The Jemima Puddle-Duck coin was released in 2016, to mark the 150th anniversary of author Beatrix Potter’s birth.
There are only 2.1 million of these coins in circulation, making it the sixth most scarce in the UK.
It’s been listed for up to £10 on eBay, but experts reckon it could be worth up to £100.
It was estimated that the Tom Kitten coin could also sell for a large sum with Beatrix Potter collectors.
Some of the coins, which had a print error on them making them even rarer, were sold on eBay for up to £4,000.
WWF 50p
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The special-edition WWF design was released in 2011.
It features the famous panda logo at the centre and is decorated with 50 other animals, including a dolphins, a frogs and a butterfly.
At one point they were listed for up to £50 on eBay but recently they have sold for as little as a few pounds.
The ‘Offside Rule’ 50p
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This was another coin created as part of the London 2012 Olympics.
This piece of silver, which has the offside rule explained on it, commonly changes hands for £6 to £10.
The EC Commemorative 50p
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In 1992, the British Mint issued a commemorative coin to celebrate the British presidency of the council of Europe.
Only 109,000 coins were issued and they are no longer in circulation because the old style 50p piece was replaced by a smaller version in 1997.
If you still have one tucked away it could be worth £70.
