A rare Blue Peter 50p coin has sold for more than 250 times its face value at an online auction, and there are thousands more out there that could be worth a small fortune
The coin was released in 2009 ahead of the 2012 Olympic Games in London.
It features an athlete competing in the high jump, and was designed by Blue Peter competition winner Florence Jackson, nine, to commemorate the Olympics.
Around 20,000 editions of the coins were minted, but the coin was never officially put into circulation.
However, it is understood that many did enter everyday transactions.
Originally, the coins were sold for £1.09, but they now go for much more than that on occasions, with one even fetching £286 on eBay.
This week, one sold for £131, after attracting 12 bids on the online auction site.
The coin was described as a “must have for any serious coin collector”.
Rarest 50p coins in circulation the UK?
The Royal Mint has revealed the most valuable 50p coins in circulation.
The rarest is the Kew’s Garden 50p, which was designed to mark the 250th anniversary of the gardens in 2009. Only 210,000 coins were ever minted with this design.
The Kew Gardens 50p sells for £156.25 on average, but one seller received over £700 for one when they sold it on eBay.
The other rarest coins stem predominantly from the 2011 Olympics, with the wrestling, football and judo coins among the most valuable. Only 1.1million of each of these coins were produced.
Flopsy bunny and Peter Rabbit designs which were produced in 2018 are also highly valuable.
These coins - 1.4 million of which were minted - depict the characters from Beatrix Potter’s novels and celebrate the life of the English writer and these sell for around £5.
In 2019, 500 million coins were produced, with three new 50p designs.
These included one of Arthur Conan Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes, Paddington Bear at St Paul's Cathedral and the Tower of London.
Top 10 most valuable 50p coins, according to Royal Mint
Here is a list of the top 10 most valuable coins, when they were made and how many were minted:
- Kew Gardens (2009), 210,000
- Olympic Wrestling (2011), 1,129,500
- Olympic Football (2011), 1,161,500
- Olympic Judo (2011), 1,161,500
- Olympic Triathlon (2011), 1,163,500
- Peter Rabbit (2018), 1,400,000
- Flopsy Bunny (2018), 1,400,000
- Olympic Tennis (2011), 1,454,000
- Olympic Goalball (2011), 1,615,500
- Olympic Shooting (2011), 1,656,500
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