Coin collecting is something many people enjoy doing, with some spending a huge amount of money in order to become the proud owner of a very rare coin. When splashing out on any pricey purchase though, it’s often advisable to do thorough research – and seek expert advice where possible. This week, one eBay user decided to part ways with a £2 Charles Dickens coin. But, this listing comes with a whopping price tag.
The seller has put it up for sale with a Buy It Now price of £2,000.
However, it’s also available to buy at auction, with an astonishing starting price tag of £1,000.
There’s also a 67 pence standard delivery fee, with the seller stating that it would be dispatched via a first class letter.
In the description, the current owner penned: “Very Rare Charles Dickens 2012 £2 Two Pound Coin with Royal Double Mint Error.”(sic)
So, is this coin really worth so much money?
It’s down to the buyer how much they’re prepared to pay, and whether the coin is really unusual.
The typical 2012 Charles Dickens £2 coin has a mintage of 8,190,000, and the publication Spend it? Save it? What should you do? has valued it at £4.
The usual two pound pieces of this design rank at one on Change Checker’s scarcity index, suggesting it’s common.
Perhaps this particular coin could stand out from others in its mintage due to the double mint errors – which the seller has mentioned.
However, it’s not immediately clear what these errors are, so perhaps it could be worth investigating further before making a bid for the item.
Whatever its true worth is, what is known about this coin is that it was created to mark the 200th anniversary of the birth of Charles Dickens.
The tails side was designed by Matthew Dent and incorporates the titles of some of the author’s most famous works.
It also boasts an inscription of the words “something will turn up” on its edge.
The phrase is a quote by the character Wilkins Micawber, in Dickens’ 1850 novel David Copperfield.
This £2 coin is not the first to be dubbed “rare” and given a whopping price tag on eBay.
A Benjamin Bunny 50p is currently selling for £400 on the website.
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.