Many 50p coins in circulation are unlikely to be worth more than their face value - but some rare examples could make you up to £11,000.
There are currently 71 different 50p coins, with another 29 released as commemorative objects and not meant to be spent.
But with some selling for thousands of pounds on occasion, it's worth checking your change, the Mirror reports.
Factors that increase the resale value of a coin include rare designs on the reverse - or 'tails' - side of the coin, errors in manufacture or that only limited numbers were made.
In November a rare Benjamin Bunny coin - said to have the Queen's head printed facing in the wrong direction - sold for £255 on eBay.
The rarest 50p in existence is one featuring the pagoda at London's Kew Gardens park.
After its release in 2009 to mark 250 years since Kew Gardens opened in 1759, the Royal Mint estimates around 210,000 were made.
It features the famous pagoda on the tails side with the Queen's face as normal on the other.
The Brexit 50p coin was first released to celebrate the UK leaving the European Union and one side is marked with the slogan 'Peace, Prosperity and Freedom with All Nations'.
The coin has sold for as much as £15,000 but you may not be able to get that much for yours.
Some eBay sellers are listing the Brexit 50ps for a more wallet-friendly price of £1.35, and they tend to sell for no more than £5 - but it could be one worth keeping hold of.
1918 Representation of the People Act 2018
An example of this 50p coin recently sold for £10,999 on auction website eBay.
The coin was used, and had several marks, but that did not detract from its final price tag.
The coin is not particularly rare, and around 9million were made. Most of this sort of 50p sell for far less - no more than £2.
The 50p was minted to celebrate a law which gave the vote to women over the age of 30 - provided they owned property. It also gave the vote to all men aged over 21.
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The other rare coins are predominantly from the 2011 Olympics, with wrestling, football, and judo coins all among the most valuable. Flopsy Bunny as well as Peter Rabbit designs, which were produced in 2018, are also highly valuable, and 1.4 million were minted.
The rarest is the Kew Garden 50p coin, which was designed to mark the 250th anniversary of the gardens in 2009. Only 210,000 coins were ever minted in this design. One seller received more than £700 for one when they sold it on eBay - but you can still buy them quite cheaply.
The one remaining specimen is carefully preserved at National Numismatic Collections at the Smithsonian Institution. The 1849 Double Eagle is currently the rarest and most valuable coin in the world, with an estimated value of around $20 million.
Many collectors choose to sell through eBay or similar online auction sites operating today. It is definitely a better choice than going through a pawnbroker, but getting a reasonable price for even rare 2 pound coin or even a collectable 50p coin requires a great deal of right timing and even a bit of luck.
The specification was changed for 1997 with the older, larger coins removed from circulation. Today, you are very unlikely to come across an old 50p in your change and if you did you would not be able to spend it in a shop. Since they can be hard to find, these pre-97 50ps are sought after by change collectors.
The 2015 Britannia £2 coin holds a special distinction as one of the rarest £2 coins struck for circulation. Despite the new design replacing Bruce Rushin's Technology design, which had featured on the coin since 1997, the initial 2015 release is scarce and a favourite with historical collectors.
According to coin database Change Checker, the 2011 Scotland: Edinburgh City £1 coin is the rarest to have been released, with a mintage of under a million. It depicts the circular coat of arms of Edinburgh and sells for about £10 on eBay. The coin was part of the “Capital Cities Series” released by the Royal Mint.
One way in which you can determine what your coin might be worth is to look at the prices it has sold for on eBay. Again, we've made things easy for you by taking the last 9 sold prices achieved on eBay and giving you the median price achieved (rounded to the nearest 50p).
When it comes to valuable coins, nothing compares to the 1933 Double Eagle. The Double Eagle, the last gold currency struck in the U.S., sold for a whopping $18.9 million in 2021. First minted in 1907, the coin features an image of Lady Liberty on its obverse and an eagle in flight on the reverse, Smithsonian reported.
The rarest is the Kew's Garden 50p, which was designed to mark the 250th anniversary of the gardens in 2009. Only 210,000 coins were ever minted with this design. The Kew Gardens 50p sells for £156.25 on average, but one seller received over £700 for one when they sold it on eBay.
The value of a coin is based on its date, mintmark, mintage, and condition. Run an online search to identify what kind of coin you have, then contact a local coin dealer to assess your coin's value. Check recently sold eBay listings to see what people are paying for your coin type.
No 50ps intended for circulation were struck to the old, larger specification in 1997. However, there were brilliant uncirculated and proof coins produced to the old larger specification for collectors. These can be seen in collectors sets like the 1997 UK Proof Set which includes an old-spec 50p and a new-design one.
What is the rarest £1 coin? According to coin database Change Checker, the 2011 Scotland: Edinburgh City £1 coin is the rarest to have been released, with a mintage of under a million. It depicts the circular coat of arms of Edinburgh and sells for about £10 on eBay.
This is the very first UK coin to feature the effigy of His Majesty King Charles III, issued in 2022 shortly after his ascension to king of the United Kingdom and the Commonwealth. This 50p coin entered circulation in the UK on the 9th December, but this coin is a pristine condition brilliant uncirculated version.
Introduction: My name is Carlyn Walter, I am a lively, glamorous, healthy, clean, powerful, calm, combative person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.
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