Rare 50p coins make up the bulk of many rare coin collections as some of the rarest pieces of sterling are 50 pence coins.
A brand new 50p coin was released by Royal Mint last month and it was snapped up very quickly.
Now the coins are selling online for many times their original retail price.
The Stephen Hawking 50p coin was released on 12 March. It was created to honour the British scientist and professor who died last year at age 76.
Hawking inspired many, not only because he overcame the adversity of his condition, but because of his astounding mind and his achievements in science.
The Oxford and Cambridge alum had motor neurone disease.
Now the coins made in his honour are being sold for large sums.
Fans of the scientist can spot the coin as it has a distinctive image of a black hole on it.
The coin was designed by Edwina Ellis, who said: “I wanted to fit a big black hole on the tiny coin and wish he was still here chortling at the thought.”
Ebay user Mcellenbear flogged a gold version of the coin online. Only 400 of these pieces were made, and the seller claims they sold out immediately.
The eBay user described the coin as a “truly beautiful design and rare collectors coin to own in your collection.
“You will receive one brand new Stephen Hawking gold proof 50p coin with all original packaging direct from Royal Mint. “Once I receive from Royal Mint I’ll send out to the winner.
“If there are any delays from Royal Mint on delivery I will keep the winner fully informed throughout the sale.”
How rare are the Stephen Hawking 50p coins?
The gold proof coins, which were sold for £795 by Royal Mint, are very rare, with only 400 being produced.
A silver proof piedfort coin would set collectors back by £95 from Royal Mint, and there are 2,500 of these.
Silver proof coins cost £55 and there are 5,500 in circulation, while an uncirculated metal coin cost £10 from Royal Mint. There has been no circulation numbers provided for this coin.
A “rare” Peter Rabbit 50p coin is listed on eBay for £1,500 = but is it worth this much?
In the publication, Spend It? Save It? What should you do?, the Tale of Peter Rabbit 50p is actually given the value of £4.
When this coin was originally released, it was given a mintage of 19,300,000, which made it rate ‘common’ on the scarcity index.
Although the coin is no longer available to purchase, it is listed at a price of £10.00 on the Royal Mint 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.