Rare 50p coin sells for £175 after eBay bidding war
A rare 50p coin has sold for a huge 350 times its original value after sparking a 27-way bidding war on eBay. The coin, which was released in 2009 to commemorate the 250th anniversary of Kew Gardens, is estimated by experts to be worth around £140.
That means this particular seller was lucky, as their coin sold for an impressive £175 on the online auctioning site. The coin, of which only 210,000 were minted by the Royal Mint, features the late Queen's face on one side, and the iconic Chinese Pagoda at the Royal Botanic Garden on the other.
Listed on eBay as a "Rare 100% Genuine 2009 Kew Gardens 50p Coin", it had an initial starting price of £20. But once the bidding was underway, the price jumped up and up to a final sale price of £175, with free postage included.
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With 210,000 of these coins still in circulation, it might be worth checking your spare change for a Kew Gardens 50p. If you're lucky enough to find one, make sure to check the date.
This is because the Royal Mint reissued a batch of these coins in 2019 to mark 50 years of the 50p, and these versions don't tend to fetch as much. However, they have been known to sell for around £70 or £80 on eBay, so you could still be in for a reasonable payout.
These are not the only coins that could earn you a small fortune, as this week TikTok user @CoinCollectingWizard shared there is a certain type of 2p coin that could potentially net you thousands. He explained: "£1,000 if your 2p says New Pence. There are so many news articles and eBay listings of people trying to sell the 1971 New Pence Two Pence coin for thousands."