Coins are a fascinating subject for many people, with many building up quite a collection of “rare” coins over the years. The rarity of a coin, as well as any possible minting errors, can mean some are willing to shell out a huge amount of money for the item. That seems to be what one eBay user is hoping for, having listed a Samuel Johnson’s Dictionary 1755 50p coin on the website for a huge amount of money. The seller, “mrpeterborn” has opted for a Buy it now price of £1,999 – so why is it so expensive?
This eBay user seems to think this coin is “very rare”, and has even described it as “very collectable”.
There are, however, no minting errors in sight, and it’s not quite clear why this 2005 50 pence piece would realistically fetch a huge £1,999.
The Royal Mint have shed some light on this circulated item, which was designed by Tom Phillips.
Made of cupro-nickel, it was created in celebration of the 250th anniversary of Samuel Johnson’s Dictionary of the English Language.
As well as the inscription of the words “Johnson’s Dictionary 1755” and “50”, the coin also gives a glimpse at the entries from the dictionary for the words fifty and pence.
So, is this design really “very rare”?
The answer to that question can only be confirmed by a coin expert, but there is information on the coin’s scarcity.
It has a mintage of 17,649,000 – which means that this many copies of the design were released into circulation at the time.
The website Change Checker have ranked this type of 50p as common, with it coming in at one on the scarcity index.
What’s more, the publication Spend It? Save It? What should you do?, which was created by the publishers of Coin News Magazine, has put a value on the design.
According to them, it could be worth £3 – a far cry from the huge £1,999 price tag that the seller is hoping for.
The publication also issued a warning about buying coins online.
That’s because it can be easy for owners to pick a selling price for a so-called “rare” coin, which doesn’t actually reflect its true value.
What’s more, by giving some listings a huge Buy it now price, other coins can seem very cheap, the publication explained.
That means that some buyers can feel like they’re picking up a bargain by ending up spending around £20 on a coin – even though it’s not necessarily worth the price tag.
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Which are the rarest £1, £2, 50p, 20p, 10p and 2p coins?
Rarest £2 coins
The rarest £2 coin is the 2002 Commonwealth Games NI coin with 485,500 in circulation. This is followed by the 2002 Commonwealth Games Wales which has 588,500 in circulation.
Next up is the 2015 Navy, and there are 650,000 in circulation.
Rarest £1 coins
The most rare £1 coins are all part of a series celebrating the British capitals.
The rarest of these is the 2011 Edinburgh coin, with 935,000 in circulation. Of the 2011 Cardiff coins there are 1,615,000 in circulation, while the 2010 London coin has 2,635,000 in circulation.
Rarest 50p coin
The rarest 50p coin is the Kew Gardens coin, which is also the rarest coin in circulation. It there were only 210,000 minted.
The football Olympic 50p coin has 1,125,500 in circulation, and the wrestling coin has 1,129,500 in circulation.
It is not so easy to evaluate the rarest 20p coins, 10p coins and even 2p coins as exact circulation figures are not known.
However, various versions of the coins are known to sell for large sums.
These include the dateless 20ps, which are actually part of a run from 2008. There may be between 50,000 and 200,000 of these coins in circulation.
The 1983 ‘New Pence’ 2p coin can also sell for a huge sum, up to £650.