Latest news with #NumismaticGuarantyCompany
Daily Mail
26-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
Rare 2p coin fetches a jaw-dropping £750 at auction: Have you got one in YOUR pocket?
A rare two-pence piece has just sold for £750 at auction today – and Brits have been urged to check their change in case they've got one too. The coin, dated 1985, was found in a piggy bank in the late 1990s, and sold for nearly 40,000 times its face value at auction. Unlike other 2p coins, it's made from cupronickel, a metal alloy normally used for higher-denomination coins such as 10 pence pieces. As a result, it's got a unique silver colour, instead of the usual bronze tint, and will stand out in a handful of change. The coin went the hammer at RWB Auctions in Royal Wootton Bassett earlier this week. Auctioneers estimated it would fetch between £300 and £400 at auction. But the coin more than doubled that, going for a staggering £750. Coin expert and YouTuber Christopher Collects, who works with The Britannia Coin Company, sister firm to RWB Auctions, described how the coin may have come out in silver. He said: 'It's been struck on the wrong metal disk. 'So somehow a cupronickel silvery-looking blank has managed to get into one of the striking machines and has filtered into the machine whilst they were striking two pence coins. 'There's this great big metal bin that's full of all these blanks – because they're not a coin until they've been struck – and they just lift them up and tip them into a hopper. 'It all gets fed into the machine, and so one of these blanks has managed to get stuck in the machinery and has then dislodged while they're striking two pence coins.' He continued: 'They can strike up to 16 coins a second in one of those machines, so you can imagine the sheer volume of coins that they produce when they're minting them for circulation. 'They can't check every single one, so normally they would grab a handful and check them over, and it's obviously not been in the handful of coins that they've pulled out to check.' The coin features a crowned portrait of Queen Elizabeth II by artist Raphael Maklouf which was used on British currency between 1985 and 1997. The reverse features the badge of the Prince of Wales – ostrich plumes within a coronet. Its cupronickel composition has been confirmed using x-ray fluorescence (XRF) technology, and it's also been authenticated by a third party, the Numismatic Guaranty Company. It's unclear how many cupronickel 2p pieces are in circulation. 'It's anybody's guess,' said Christopher, 'there is no way to track back how many have been made.' The coin expert says there could be one in your pocket right now. He said: 'If you don't look, you definitely won't find, is what I would normally say. 'It does stand out if you've got a handful of two pence coins and you have a silver-looking one rather than a coppery-looking one. 'This one was found in a piggy bank, so there's every chance that there could be more out there, but they're not going to be in huge numbers.' He added: 'This just sort of highlights the kind of treasure that you can find in your change, in your pocket, in your money jars.'
Daily Mail
23-04-2025
- Business
- Daily Mail
Rare 2p coin is set to fetch a staggering £400 at auction: Have you got one in YOUR pocket?
A rare two-pence piece is set to fetch up to £400 at auction today – and Brits have been urged to check their change in case they've got one too. The coin, dated 1985, was found in a piggy bank in the late 1990s, and could now sell for up to 20,000 times its face value at auction. Unlike other 2p coins, it's made from cupronickel, a metal alloy normally used for higher-denomination coins like 10 pence pieces. As a result, it's got a unique silver colour, instead of the usual bronze tint, and will stand out in a handful of change. The coin goes under the hammer at RWB Auctions in Royal Wootton Bassett at 11am today. Coin expert and YouTuber Christopher Collects, who works with The Britannia Coin Company, sister firm to RWB Auctions, described how the coin may have come out in silver. He said: 'It's been struck on the wrong metal disk. 'So somehow a cupronickel silvery-looking blank has managed to get into one of the striking machines and has filtered into the machine whilst they were striking two pence coins. 'There's this great big metal bin that's full of all these blanks – because they're not a coin until they've been struck – and they just lift them up and tip them into a hopper. 'It all gets fed into the machine, and so one of these blanks has managed to get stuck in the machinery and has then dislodged while they're striking two pence coins.' He continued: 'They can strike up to 16 coins a second in one of those machines, so you can imagine the sheer volume of coins that they produce when they're minting them for circulation. 'They can't check every single one, so normally they would grab a handful and check them over, and it's obviously not been in the handful of coins that they've pulled out to check.' The coin features a crowned portrait of Queen Elizabeth II by artist Raphael Maklouf which was used on British currency between 1985 and 1997. The reverse features the badge of the Prince of Wales – ostrich plumes within a coronet. Its cupronickel composition has been confirmed using x-ray fluorescence (XRF) technology, and it's also been authenticated by a third party, the Numismatic Guaranty Company. Auctioneers estimate it will fetch between £300 and £400 at auction. It's unclear how many cupronickel 2p pieces are in circulation. 'It's anybody's guess,' said Christopher, 'there is no way to track back how many have been made.' The coin expert says there could be one in your pocket right now. He said: 'If you don't look, you definitely won't find, is what I would normally say. 'It does stand out if you've got a handful of two pence coins and you have a silver-looking one rather than a coppery-looking one. 'This one was found in a piggy bank, so there's every chance that there could be more out there, but they're not going to be in huge numbers.' He added: 'This just sort of highlights the kind of treasure that you can find in your change, in your pocket, in your money jars.'
Yahoo
11-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
These 12 Coins May Be Extinct, but They Are Worth Thousands Now
Unlike living creatures or fads, coins don't become extinct due to ecological changes, predators, overexposure or boredom. Instead, the U.S. Mint simply stops making them, which puts them into the 'extinct' category. This has happened a lot in America over the past 250 or so years, with coins coming and going — sometimes in only a couple of years. For collectors, extinction can help push coin values up into the thousands and even millions of dollars. Check Out: For You: 3 Things You Must Do When Your Savings Reach $50,000 The Numismatic Guaranty Company has speculated that all coins might eventually become extinct currencies as digital wallets and payments continue to take up a bigger role in the economy. The first current U.S. coins that could be headed for extinction are one-cent and five-cent pieces. This is partly because it costs more to produce them than they're worth. Even so, it will likely be many years before that happens, if it happens at all. For now, you can still dig into your pocket or purse and pay for items with coins. The penny, nickel, dime and quarter are the circulating coins in use today. Half dollar and $1 coins are produced as collectibles, though they still may be ordered by the Federal Reserve for circulation and used as legal tender, according to the U.S. Mint. Even certain modern currency from the past few decades has become extinct — including bicentennial quarters, some of which now fetch nearly $20,000 on the collectibles market. If you're lucky enough to stumble upon long-extinct U.S. coins from the 18th and 19th centuries, you could find yourself an instant millionaire. Here's a list of now-extinct U.S. coin denominations as cited by the NCG: Half-cent: 1793-1857 Two-cent: 1864-1873 Three-cent nickels: 1865-1889 Three-cent silvers: 1851-1873 20 cent: 1875-1878 $1 gold: 1849-1889 Two and one-half dollar gold: 1796-1929 $3 gold: 1854-1889 $4 gold (patterns): 1879-1880 $5 dollar gold: 1795-1929 $10 gold: 1795-1933 $20 gold: 1849-1933 Depending on the condition, you might get anywhere from less than $100 to more than $2 million for some of the coins on the above list. Coins that are in pristine shape are so rare that it's almost impossible to find them on the collectibles market, because the owners don't want to sell. Others that are scratched and defaced are much more available on the market — and you won't need to sell your house to afford them. Good To Know: Here's a look at 12 extinct coins that can bring thousands of dollars. The list includes the highest prices cited on the NGC and other coin sites. Keep in mind that the highest-priced coins are extremely rare, and most of the coins still out there are worth much less than the highest price. 1793 Liberty Cap half cent: up to $35,000 Shield two cents (1864-1873): $58,500 1865 three-cent nickel: $10,000 Silver three cents (1851-1873): $60,000 20 cents (1875-1878): $70,000 Gold dollars (1849-1889): $170,000 Indian Head $2.50 (1908-1929): $100,000 $3 gold (1854-1889): $192,500 $4 Stella (1879-1880): $2.75 million Indian Head $5 (1908-1929): $235,000 Indian Head $10 (1907-1933): $2 million Liberty Head $20 (1850-1907): $385,000 More From GOBankingRates 5 Subtly Genius Moves All Wealthy People Make With Their Money4 Unusual Ways To Make Extra Money That Actually WorkThis article originally appeared on These 12 Coins May Be Extinct, but They Are Worth Thousands Now Sign in to access your portfolio
