eBay: 'Extremely rare’ Peter Rabbit 50p coin selling for £1000 – buyers must beware

Commemorative coins are of great interest to a lot of people and collectors may look to eBay  for such pieces, with the site being regularly updated with supposedly “rare” coins. One such piece is this “2016 Beatrix Potter Half Whisker Peter Rabbit” 50p coin, which was recently listed on the site with a starting price of £1,000. Described as “extremely rare”, the coin was uploaded by the seller “charlottnaylo_3”, who has been a member of the auction site since 2016. The seller has started the biding price at £1,000, however, eager buyers can purchase the coin immediately for £1,400 with free delivery. But at over 2,000 times its face value, is this coin worth it?

Beatrix Potter coins have been popular with coin collectors since they were first released to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the author’s birth in 2016.

The fifty pence on sale is from the first batch of coins released and other versions have been brought out each year since.

The coin features a drawing of Peter Rabbit in the middle of the face and it was designed by Emma Noble.

According to coin website, Change Checker, the 50p has a mintage of 9,700,000 and ranks as one on the scarcity index, making it common.

Experts at the coin publication, Spend It? Save It? What Should You Do? disagree slightly and say the coin has a slightly different mintage of 9,600,000.

Still, the publication explained the coin is not necessarily rare and they gave it the valuation of just £4.

Nevertheless, the publication warned that sellers are within their right to sell coins at whatever price they choose, which could explain why this coin has been priced so highly.

Astonishingly, the experts found that high price tags can make more affordable listings seem much more appealing.

And more often than not, the coins aren’t even worth that, so the buyer still ends up paying more than it is worth.

The publication warned buyers to be aware, saying: “So remember – just because a coin is listed at a certain price that doesn’t mean it is worth it and just because something seems to have sold for a certain amount that doesn’t mean it actually did.”

Another Peter Rabbit coin was previously listed on the site for a whopping £8,999.

Even though the seller asked for the large sum of money, they admitted the coin was circulated – something which usually decreases the value.

The fifty pence comes with free postage and can be delivered by special delivery or it can be collected.

The commemorative coin on sale is a Peter Rabbit 50p coin which was released in 2017.

It may be interesting to a lot of people and it was part of the second batch of Beatrix Potter 50p coins to be put into circulation.

source: express.co.uk