Do you have this ultra rare 50p that sold for £198 after bidding war? Key details to check

The Sun

29-07-2025

A RARE 50p coin has sold for almost 400 times its original value after an intense bidding war.
The coin sold for a huge £198.20 on eBay after receiving 20 bids.
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It is a 2009 London 2012 Olympic Games Blue Peter 50p, which came sealed in its original packaging.
The commemorative design was brought out to mark the 2012 London Olympics.
Only 19,722 of these Blue Peter branded coin packs were issued by the Royal Mint and they were never brought into circulation.
It's possible some have entered circulation since then, but they are still an ultra rare find.
The coin, dated 2009, was the first of 29 officially licensed London 2012 Olympics coins.
Its design was created by eight-year-old Florence Jackson from Bristol, who had entered her high jump-themed drawing into a Blue Peter competition.
Her design was picked from an impressive 17,000 entries.
She is still the youngest Brit to have her design used on a coin.
These coins have been selling for large amounts of money on auction sites like eBay.
One of them sold for a huge £320 earlier this year.
Five 50ps that could earn you thousands
More Olympic coins were brought into circulation in 2011 - including the Athletics 50p.
Some 2.2million of the Athletics 50ps were issued in 2011, meaning these are much less rare and worth a lot less.
So if you have this coin and want to check if it's worth much, you'll just need to check the year on it.
Other Olympic coins to collect depict sports such as Taekwondo, Wheelchair Rugby, Gymnastics, Cycling, Boxing, and Archery.
What makes a coin rare?
If the right buyer comes along, rare coins can sell for hundreds or even thousands of pounds.
Coins are generally considered rare if they have a low mintage figure - meaning not many of them were created.
You can usually find out the mintage of a coin by checking The Royal Mint 's official website.
Some coins will also be classed as rare if there was a mistake made during the manufacturing process.
These are often known as "error" coins.
In some cases there may only be a handful of these available, making them incredibly rare and valuable.
For example, one error coin dubbed the "lines over face" 50p, has been known to sell for £1,500 in the past.
Most rare and valuable 50p coins
WE reveal the Royal Mint's most rare and valuable 50p coins in circulation.
Triathlon
Minted in 2011, the Triathlon 50p depicts the same sport which featured in the 2012 Olympics.
There are more than 1,160,000 of the coins in circulation.
With over 200million 50ps circulating in the UK, that makes this coin quite a rare find.
The highest recent sale we've found on eBay recently was £30 on June 21.
Judo
Judo is a popular sport that involves grappling with your opponent.
But despite the design, it's not so easy to get a hold of this coin, of which there are just 1,161,500 in circulation.
The piece was designed by David Cornell after he won a national competition.
It was minted in 2011 and the highest bid we've seen on eBay was for £17.95 on June 21.
Wrestling
Wrestling was one of the first Olympic sports so it's not surprising that it features on one of the 50p pieces.
The 2011 coin was designed by Roderick Enriquez, a graphic designer from Hammersmith, London.
We've seen it sell for as much as £15 online so is worth digging around for.
In recent months, one was sold on eBay for £11.95 on June 18.
Football
Of all the coins created to commemorate the 2012 Olympic Games, the 50p Football is among the rarest.
It features an explanation of the controversial offside rule on it, with 1,125,000 produced.
One sold for £20 on eBay on June 11, although it has been known to go for as much as £75 in the past.
Kew Gardens
The Kew Gardens 50p is the rarest of all the 50p pieces, with only 210,000 in circulation.
They have been known to sell for as much as £895 on eBay before.
The design was created by Christopher Le Brun RA and features the famous Chinese Pagoda with a leafy chamber that twists around the tower.
The coin often sparks the interest of new coin collectors due to its rarity.
The highest sale we found in recent weeks was £142 on June 22 with 23 bids.
How to sell a rare coin
There are three main ways you can sell rare coins - on eBay, Facebook, or in an auction.
If you're selling on Facebook, make sure you post good quality pictures and price the piece as accurately as possible.
Some platforms like eBay will let you see how much the same coin has sold for previously.
Just search for the coin and then filter the results by sold items only.
Alternatively you can sell at auction, which you can organise with The Royal Mint's Collectors Service.
It has a team of experts who can help you authenticate and value your coin.
You can get in touch via email and a member of the valuation team will get back to you.
You will be charged for the service though - the cost varies depending on the size of your collection.