Most Rare and Valuable Coins in the UK

Making money from the change in your pocket is an exciting and fun way to earn a little extra cash.

Rare and valuable UK coins can be worth thousands of times more than their face value!

There are collectors who love to add to their stack of rare coins.

Some people are lucky enough to come across a rare coin, sometimes because they have inherited a loved one’s collection or because one happened to sneak into their change. 

We’re going to take a look at some of the rarest coins in the UK, what they are worth and a few tips for selling coins! 

Rarest coins in the UK 

Let’s now look at the most rare and valuable coins you may find in Britain. 

These are pretty special coins, so they’re unlikely to be in your piggy bank. However you never know when you may come across one in a relative’s old coin collection.

Edward VIII Coins – Valued at up to £1million

Kind Edward VIII abdicated after just a few months on the throne, because he chose to marry a divorced socialite called Wallis Simpson. 

So because of this no coins featuring him were released into circulation. 

However a small number of trial pieces were struck. 

One of these coins – a sovereign – sold for £1million!  

1917 George V Sovereign London – Valued at £10,000+

This rare coin, produced at the Royal Mint in London, has fetched £11,000 at auction.

The 1917 George V Sovereign features King George V on one side and St George and the Dragon on the other side. 

Its face value when it was struck was £1. However nearly all of these coins were sent to the US to help fund the First World War. 

1933 George V Penny – Valued at £72,000

If you come across one of these extremely rare coins you would be very lucky indeed!

No official pennies were produced in 1933 due to the volume circulating at the time. However a few were produced – known as “pattern” versions. It is thought as few as six or seven were produced. 

According to the Royal Mint Museum there was a convention at the time that complete sets of coins of the current year were buried under the foundation stones of new buildings. Consequently three 1933 pennies were struck for buildings erected in that year, along with a small number to be kept as record copies in museums. 

One of these coins sold for £72,000 in 2016. 

1983 “New Pence” 2p Coin – Valued at £500-£1,000

Between 1971 and 1981 2p coins were struck with the words “new pence” on the reverse side. This was then changed to say “Two Pence”. 

However in 1983 some coins were mistakenly struck with “New Pence” again. 

So if you have coins from the correct time period – 1971 to 1981 – those won’t be worth much, however the mistaken batch from 1983 could fetch as much as £700 or more. 

1703 Queen Anne VIGO Five Guinea – Valued at £100,000+

Just a few of these commemorative gold coins were ever struck, with just 20 now known to have survived. 

Fewer than a handful have come to auction in the last 50 years, and so this is ranked as one of the rarest and most desired coins among collectors! 

One of the coins had been played with as toy treasure before the owner decided to get it valued and found out it was worth over £200,000!

Una and the Lion gold five-pound piece – Valued at £50,000

This gold coin was minted in 1839 to commemorate the beginning of Queen Victoria’s reign in 1837.

It features a portrait of Victoria, as well as a image of Queen Victoria walking with a lion. This was intended as a depiction of the Queen as Lady Una, who is a character from the open Faerie Queene by Edmund Spenser. 

One of these coins went under the hammer at a valuation of £42,000 to £50,000.

2012 London Olympics Aquatics 50p – Valued at £1,500

This special 50p released for the London Olympics has a notable error – the lines across the swimmer’s face. The original design had no lines obscuring the face. 

It is not clear how many error coins are out there, but the dodgy version of this coin has sold for as much as £1,500. 

Silver 2p Coin – Valued at £500-£1,000+ 

This rare coin was made of silver instead of nickel due to an error in production. It was struck using the steel base of a 10p instead of the copper-plated steel used for normal 2p coins. 

One of these coins sold in online auctions for £485, however another silver 2p sold for £1,350, 67,500 times its face value!

Another went on sale for £485 on eBay.

Another sold for £800, raising money for the Royal Berkshire Hospital.

Valuable UK coins 

The coins in this list are still pretty tough to come across, however they’re not quite as scarce as the ones listed above! 

They’re also not quite as valuable as the previous ones, but worth more than their face value so its worth knowing what to look out for.

This list also features more recent coins, which may be more likely to sneak into your small change. 

2009 Kew Gardens 50p Coin – Valued at £250+

Just 210,000 of these coins were released into circulation, according to the Royal Mint.

Its popularity among coin collectors took off in 2014, when it because more widely known how few of these coins were in circulation. 

The coin features the famous Chines Pagoda at Kew Gardens.

After the 2009 coin took off, the Royal Mint released a 2019 version too. This one is not as valuable so be sure to check your coin’s date! 

2008 Undated 20p Coin – Valued at £70 

This undated coin was an error in production of 2008 20p pieces. 

Around 250,000 coins were minted with this error. 

1996 Celebration of Football Gold £2 Coin – Valued at £800+

This coin was produced to mark the European Football Championships in 1996. It is known as a Double Sovereign due to its weight and face value. 

Just under 2,100 of these coins were minted. 

Commonwealth Games 2002 Ireland £2 – Valued at £40+

Four different designs of a £3 to commemorate the Commonwealth Games in 2002 were released, however the Irish version is the rarest.

There were 485,500 of these coins minted in 2002.

If you can get your hands on all four then you stand to make just over £100.

Britannia 50p – Valued at £7

This is probably a familiar 50p piece to you, however certain versions of it can be pretty rare. Even the less rare ones can be worth £7 – far more than the face value!

The coin features the classic Britannia image which was used up to 2008, when it was replaced by the Royal Arms design.

Rare 50p coins 

The size of 50p coins make them ideal for creating commemorative designs and so there are over 70 events and anniversaries celebrated on circulating 50ps! 

For example in 2022 a 50p was released to mark the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee.

Around 1.3million have been released into circulation, which means they haven’t been difficult to get your hands on now. 

However collectors who love to snap up these commemorative coins will no doubt have added one to their stash. 

As well as the 2009 Kew Gardens 50p, here are some other rare 50p coins in circulation: 

Mintage year	Commemorative	Total mintage
2011	Olympic Football	1,125,500
2011	Olympic Wrestling	1,129,500
2011	Olympic Judo	1,161,500
2011	Olympic Triathlon	1,163,500
2011	Olympic Tennis	1,454,000
2011	Olympic Goalball	1,615,500
2011	Olympic Shooting	1,656,500
2018	Peter Rabbit	1,400,000
2018	Flopsy Bunny	1,400,000
2022	Pride	5,000,000
2022	Platinum Jubilee	5,000,000

What makes coins valuable?

Coins are made valuable (more so than their face value) by a number of factors. Here are the key ones: 

• Low mintage numbers. This refers to the number of these coins that were produced and then sent out into circulation. If just a few were made – for example there are only around 200,000 2009 Kew Gardens 50p out there – then it pushes up the value of the coin.  

• Errors. Accidents happen, and mints (places that produce coins) are no different from anywhere else! Some coins were produced with errors, for example the 1983 2p coins produced with “New Pence” instead of “Two Pence” on them. 

• “Pattern” coins. This refers to coins that were produced as a test run, which means maybe only a handful were ever produced. You’re unlikely to come across these in the change in your pocket, but might just stumble upon one in a collector’s haul. 

• Coins with a story. That story may involve a combination of the above factors, or it could be something else as well. For example King Edward VIII abdicated before coins with his face could be put into circulation, but a few test runs were produced! So they’re rare, but also form part of an important story from the royal family’s history. 

You may also like: 50+ Things to sell for extra cash

What is the most valuable coin?

So what one coin should you be keeping a really close eye out for? You’re unlikely to come across   it here in the UK!

The most valuable coin is the 1794 Flowing Hair Silver Dollar, which sold at auction for over $10million in 2013. 

Experts believe it was the first silver dollar struck by the US Mint.

Tips for selling valuable coins 

If you think you may have a valuable coin sitting in your drawer, here are a few tips for selling your coins for extra cash:

• Do your research. If you think you have a rare coin then do a quick Google search. When you do this the top results will generally be shopping results, showing online auctions of similar coins for sale. Try not to get too excited if one of these results shows the same coin for sale for £1,000+, some people just try their luck with selling coins. Look at the expert valuations, trying to get an opinion from a broad range of big coin collector websites. Experts such as Coin Hunter and Royal Mint can help you verify your change. There’s a handy guide to valuing coins yourself here. 

• But seek expert help. Just because a coin you have is not on any lists from experts when you do a quick search, doesn’t mean it won’t be valuable. You may have found a coin so rare no one else has picked up on it before. Ask experts for help if you’re unsure. 

• Check the sold listings. When looking on eBay to see similar listings for your coin, check the sold listings so you can gauge how many coins similar to yours have sold and how much they went for. 

• Are the coins still available? Coins that can still be purchased from the Royal Mint website, for example, won’t be able to drive such a high price at auction.