Exact detail missing on UK’s rarest 50p coin that makes it worth 150 times its face value

A RARE 50p coin has sold for a huge 150 times its value thanks to a small missing detail.

An eBay user snapped up the coin for £76.24 after a wild bidding frenzy.

The coin is a King Charles Atlantic Salmon 50p, which was first minted in 2023 to celebrate Charles taking the throne.

It features an Atlantic salmon on one side and the King’s portrait on the other.

It’s the rarest coin in the UK, with only about 200,000 copies minted.

While that makes it already fairly valuable, these coins are worth even more if they are missing a “privy mark”.

Privy marks are only etched onto coins produced for special occasions, such as coronations and jubilees, and for collector’s editions.

They are small distinctive symbols added to the design of a coin.

The 2023 Atlantic Salmon 50p’s privy mark is a small crown just behind the King’s head – but interestingly, the coin is worth even more without it.

Therefore if you come across this coin without a privy mark, you could be set to make a good profit.

However, it is worth bearing in mind that rare coins are only worth what a seller is willing to pay for them.

Some collectors may be willing to pay a high amount to complete their collection.

Rare 50p coins

Last October, the Royal Mint revealed the 2023 Atlantic Salmon 50p is the UK‘s rarest coin.

It knocked the Kew Gardens coin off the top spot, with 10,000 fewer coins in circulation.

The Kew Gardens 50p was released in 2009, with just 210,000 coins put into circulation.

The iconic coin features the famous Chinese Pagoda at Kew on its reverse design.

It is widely thought of as one of the most-loved coins by collectors.

The 50p is the nation’s most collectible coin, having seen more than 100 different designs appear on its reverse side.

Other rare versions include special designs for the 2012 London Olympic and Paralympic Games, and the King’s coronation.

What makes a coin valuable and how to spot them

The most valuable coins tend to be the rarest.

One of the most attractive things for collectors is if a coin has a low mintage (aka the number of coins with each design made).

Other things that can increase the value are the coin’s condition and whether it has an error in its design.

Often, collectors want coins with small errors because this makes them rarer.

To check how rare your coin is, you can look at a coin scarcity index (such as on Change Checker) or look at the latest list of rare coins released by the Royal Mint.

You could also check what the coin has recently sold for on eBay.

Experts from Change Checker recommend looking at “sold listings” to be sure that the coin has sold for the specified amount rather than just been listed.

You could also look out for rare £10 notes.

You can spot rare notes by keeping an eye out for the serial numbers.

These numbers can be found on the side with the monarch‘s face, just under the value £10 in the corner of the note.

You could also check whether the note has a quirky serial number.

For example, one seller bagged £3,600 after spotting a specific serial number relating to the year Jane Austen was born on one of their notes.

Again, you can check if your notes are worth anything on eBay.

Just tick “completed and sold items” and filter by the highest value.

This will give you an idea of how much people are willing to pay.

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