Rare London 2012 Olympics 50p coin could fetch a tidy sum – see if you own one

Checking your spare change might seem mundane, but if you stumble on a rare coin you could be sitting on a small fortune.

It's well-known that commemorative coins can be thrilling to collect, but once you discover the price tag of some, you'll be itching to get them at auctions. Now, one London 2012 Olympics coin is worth more than its face value.

We all recall when the summer games were hosted in the UK capital city, but many Brits will have snagged some of the coins from the Royal Mint collection. In 2011, an impressive 29 coins were released in the set to commemorate the event.

The collection was launched to celebrate the iconic games with some coins now worth a tidy sum, for instance, the football piece which previously sold for £125. Now, according to TikTok user @CoinCollectingWizard, it's time to check your wallets.

Discussing the Table Tennis 50p coin from the 2012 event, he said: "Almost 1.2million coins dated 2011 were struck to enter circulation. The coin features two people playing table tennis or ping pong if you prefer.

"Table tennis made its Olympic debut at Seoul 1988. The first player to score 11 points wins each game based on best of seven games for singles and best of five for team matches.

"If you are lucky enough to come across this table tennis 50p, then you are looking at around £2 in circulated condition and around £5 in brand new condition."

All of the Olympic 50p designs were selected through a public competition back in 2009, with an impressive 30,000 submissions for the Table Tennis 50p alone.

The user added: "Do you or have you seen this 50p in your change? Or have you seen any of the other Olympics coins, let me know in the comments."

It has since thrilled followers, amassing hundreds of likes and numerous comments. One enthusiast commented: "Nice ending!" Another chimed in: "I have a lot of them."

Spotted one of these sought-after coins from the collection in your spare change? Drop us a comment below....