Rare 50p coin sells for £2,500 after bidding war - check your spare change

11 October 2023 , 12:21

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This coin recently sold on eBay for £2,500 (Image: TNG)

A rare 50p coin has sold for £2,500 after a bidding war was sparked on eBay.

It is worth keeping an eye on your loose change though, as recently a number of rare coins have been selling for eye-watering money.

There were two coins in the listing both were made to commemorate the 2012 Olympic Games in London and were both marked with images of swimmers.

Both coins showed a swimmer with their face down in the water with their goggles on pushing through to the finish line. One coin had wavy lines covering the swimmer's face whilst the other didn't. This design was what caused coin collectors into a frenzy as only 600 coins were ever produced with lines across the athlete's face. The design was later amended to show the face in full.

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The design of this coin was later changed to show the athletes face in full (The Royal Mint)

Six-hundred is a tiny, tiny amount in the world of coin collecting. To put this into context, there are around 6.7million Battle of Hastings 50p coins in circulation and 2.1million Olympic Triathlon 50p coins out there right now.

The seller themselves was aware of how special this coin was to collectors as it was first listed on eBay on October 2 for a starting price of £1,000. On the listing, the seller said: "The 2012 Olympic Games AQUATICS 50p coin is a genuine NGC MS66 graded ultra-rare piece.

"Selling a pair of these coins, one with the lines over the face, and the other is the replacement design with the lines removed. Both are in NGC capsules, and both are MS66 graded. Both are in mint, uncirculated condition."

"99% of all “lines over the face” Aquatics coins are FAKES, especially on eBay. Both of these coins have been verified as genuine by the Royal Mint, and graded by the NGC. This is a great opportunity for collectors to add an ultra rare and extremely valuable piece to their coin collection.

Over the course of the week, more bids were added by six buyers with 12 bids being placed on the coins altogether. The winner put a bid in for £2,500 on October 9.

It is always worth taking a look at your spare change before you spend it as recently another 50p coin was sold for £205. The Kew Gardens 50p coin was released in 2009 to mark 250 years since the iconic botanic garden opened to the public in 1759.

Its design features the famous Chinese Pagoda in the gardens being intertwined by a leafy climber. The Kew Gardens 50p regularly tops lists of rarest coins, with just 210,000 in circulation - meaning it is highly sought-after by collectors.

Ruby Flanagan