A RARE 2p coin that might be worth up to £400 could be sitting in your piggy bank right now.
The Royal Mint manufactures an average of two billion coins a year – and now and then there are production errors.
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These errors actually make the coins highly valuable for collectors.
The coin, which is going up for auction in Royal Wootton Bassett later this month, was first discovered in the late 1990s.
After holding onto the coin for some time, the owner got in touch with the auction house and was thrilled to discover it was worth some 20,000 times its high street value.
Unlike most 2p coins, this one is silver and is expected to fetch up to £400 in auction.
It was mistakenly made from cupronickel – the same alloy used to produce 5p and 10ps.
Coin expert Christopher Collects has urged Brits to check their wallets as he says many more are undoubtedly lurking about.
When coins are made, he added, if the wrong blank is fed into the machine, then a coin will come out in the wrong metal.
He told the Swindon Advertiser: “With modern quality control processes, most mistakes of this kind are identified quickly but it is clear that a small number of error 2p coins were released into circulation in 1985.
“Just a few of these 1985 cupronickel 2ps have been identified over the years and they remain a scarce and exciting error, sought-after by collectors of very rare UK coins.”
What should you do if you find a rare coin?
It’s worth remembering that a rare coin is only worth what someone is willing to pay for it.
They might be happy to pay more if it will complete their collection, for example.
The Royal Mint has said it is unable to comment on the value of any individual coin so it is best to consult a coin dealer.
You can do this by contacting the British Numismatic Trade Association.
You can visit their website at: www.bnta.net.
If you want to get an idea of how much your coin is worth, you can look online to see what it’s sold for previously.
