Rare coin released just two years ago sells for £70 after week-long bidding war – is one lingering in YOUR change?

Scottish Sun

22-07-2025

Plus, we share easy tips to spot rare coins
COINING IT Rare coin released just two years ago sells for £70 after week-long bidding war – is one lingering in YOUR change?
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A RARE coin released just two years ago has sold for 140 times its face value after a week-long bidding war.
The 2023 Atlantic Salmon 50p was sold for £72.09 to one lucky punter after fighting off offers from 26 other bidders.
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The coin was sold for over £70 on eBay
Only 200,000 of these coins have entered circulation, making it one of the rarest coins in the UK.
And previous research by Change Checker found only around one in 335 people in the UK could have the chance of snagging one.
To spot this coin look on the tails side of the piece for an Atlantic salmon leaping from the waves.
The front features a portrait of King Charles III.
And you could get more for than £72.09 for the valuable coin.
In December last year, a seller paid £85 for the piece on eBay.
More recently, in June, one punter paid £97 for the coin after beating 28 others in a bidding war.
But a coin is only worth what bidders are willing to pay for it.
In May, one buyer scooped up the coin for £47 after fighting off offers from 21 other bidders.
Last month one seller managed to flog the coin for £61 after 11 bidders tried to get their hands on it.
Olympic Aquatics 50p coin error
The Atlantic Salmon 50p is not the only rare coin in circulation.
The 2009 Blue Peter piece also recently sold for £180 after 21 bids.
It was released in 2009 ahead of the London Olympic games in 2012.
The coin features someone doing the high jump on one side, a design created by eight-year-old Florence Jackson from Bristol.
The final design was chosen from over 17,000 entries as part of a Blue Peter competition.
Elsewhere, the 2009 Kew Gardens 50p was recently sold £110.
How to spot rare coins and banknotes
Rare coins and notes hiding down the back of your sofa could sell for hundreds of pounds.
If you are lucky enough to find a rare £10 note you might be able to sell it for multiple times its face value.
You can spot rare notes by keeping an eye out for the serial numbers.
These numbers can be found on the side with the Monarch's face, just under the value £10 in the corner of the note.
Also, if you have a serial number on your note that is quite quirky, you could cash in thousands.
For example, one seller bagged £3,600 after spotting a specific serial number relating to the year Jane Austen was born on one of their notes.
You can check if your notes are worth anything on eBay, just tick "completed and sold items" and filter by the highest value.
This will give you an idea of what people are willing to pay for some notes.
But bear in mind that yours is only worth what someone else is willing to pay for it.
This is also the case for coins, you can determine how rare your coin is by looking a the latest scarcity index.