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Homeless man given rare 50p coin that could be worth THOUSANDS

A homeless man who was moved on by police got a lucky break when he was handed a 50p coin that could be worth thousands of pounds.

The vagrant was sitting outside Greggs in Exeter, Devon, seeking money from strangers when officers approached him and asked him to move.

But before moving on, the homeless man asked officers about the unusual 50p coin that he had been handed.

He wanted to know if it was part of a rare special edition launched in memory of children’s author Beatrix Potter.

Rare: The Beatrix Potter collection are worth at least hundreds of pounds (SWNS)
Rare: The Beatrix Potter collection are worth at least hundreds of pounds (SWNS)

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One of the officers checked his phone and discovered that the coin is changing hands for more than £600 on eBay – with one even selling for a staggering £10,000.

The coin is among a series released by the Royal Mint in April last year featuring well-loved characters to mark the 150 anniversary of Beatrix Potter.

They are the first children’s fictional characters to appear on British coins and proved incredibly popular – with silver special editions selling out in just eight days.

The special editions cost £55 when they were released but are worth a lot more to collectors, who often snap them up when they are discovered in general circulation.

Top pic: SWNS