Coin collectors share the rarest 50p coins including King Charles one worth £153 – plus tips on selling them

COIN experts have revealed the rarest 50p coins in circulation - including one that could be turn your change into a £153 windfall.

Rare coins are collectors items and can fetch hefty prices at auction, but it's not just ancient currency that can mean big money.

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There are plenty of unusual coins currently in circulation that could turn your loose change into a cash windfall.

Experts have revealed which 50p coins to look out for as you sort through your pockets.

Kew Gardens 50p

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The Kew Gardens 50p is one of the best-known rare coins in circulation.

The design was created by Christopher Le Brun and features Kew's famous Chinese Pagoda with a decorative leafy climber twining in and around the tower. 

Just 210,000 of the coins were released in total, and most are now in private collections - but there's a chance one could still turn up in your loose change.

Oliver Miller, managing director of Bishop and Miller auctioneers, said: "The Kew Gardens 50p got quite popular as a well-known coin that was in circulation and the Royal Mint were clever enough to start producing presentation packs, so you could buy it from the Mint knowing it was a rarer coin.

"This one you could get £50 for, so it’s a pretty good mark up."

Beatrix Potter half whiskers 50p

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The Beatrix Potter half whiskers 50p was a result of an error in the minting process.

It's an example of a quirky mistake having made a coin rare and valuable.

Mr Miller said: "[It's called] half whiskers because the rabbit literally has half its whiskers and [the coins] will fetch about £40 each.

"These ones really can turn up in change, so are well worth looking out for.

"But it has to be half whiskers - if you’ve got full whiskers there’s no money there."

The Beatrix Potter coins were released to celebrate 150 years of the best-selling writer.

1992-1993 50p

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Sometimes coins get their value simply from being uncommon, and that is the case with the double-dated 1992-1993 50p piece.

Tenishia McSweeney, appraiser at Prestige Pawnbrokers of Channel 4’s Posh Pawn, said: "The 1992-1993 50p coin, had a very low mintage of 109,000 and is valued at around £60."

The coin may be rare, but it is in circulation and if you find one in your wallet, you could make a mint on it.

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King Charles III 50p

The King Charles III 50p was among the first coins issued to mark the new monarch's reign.

The coins were released in August 2023 to commemorate his coronation.

Five million of the coins were issued, with a design based on Westminster Abbey.

McSweeney said: "One of King Charles’ 50p coins recently sold for £153, so we could maybe look at the moment to that kind of value.

"Depending on how long King Charles is on the throne and other historical moments that might coincide with future coins minted, you might look at some of these coins hitting that million mark - timing is everything and we don’t know what’s going to happen.

"But, if you have one of these coins, it’s going to be quite special in years to come."

What to do if you find a rare coin

If you think you might have a rare coin it's important to look after it and seek advice from an expert before attempting to do anything yourself.

Mr Miller said: "Do not clean it and do not damage it. If you clean it, it’s worth nothing and if you damage it the price shoots down.

"Then buzz over an email to a coin auction house. You really want to deal with people who deal with coins not your general auctioneers.

"They’ll guide you to know if you have a rare one or not."

How to spot rare coins and banknotes

Rare coins and notes are highly desirable among specialist collectors and could make you a mint if you find one.

Some of the most in-demand pieces can sell for hundreds of pounds.

If you spot an unusual-looking coin in your change, keep hold of it.

Then look up exactly how rare it is. Usually, the rarer it is, the more valuable it is.

You can find out what coins are rare and how they look on The Royal Mint's website.

You can also determine the coin and how common it is by looking at the scarcity index on specialist coin collector sites.

To work out how valuable it might be, take a look at similar coins that have recently sold on eBay or even at auction.

Remember to look at "sold listings" to be sure that the coin has sold for the specified amount rather than just been listed.

It's not just coins, rare notes can sell for multiple times their face value.

This includes fivers, rare £10 notes as well as higher denominations.

One of the main distinguishing marks of a rare note is the serial number.

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

Low serial numbers or something quite quirky can see you cash in thousands.

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.

You can check if your notes are worth anything on eBay, just tick "completed and sold items" and filter by the highest value.

It will give you an idea of what people are willing to pay for some notes.

But do bear in mind that yours is only worth what someone else is willing to pay for it.

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