Brits urged to check 2p coins as some are worth £1,000 due to Royal Mint mistake

20 October 2023 , 11:01

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The 2p piece is worth up to £1,000 (Image: Getty Images)

We all know that when it comes to spending 2p - it's not going to go very far. £1,000, however, is a lot more promising and will likely make you much more excited to go and spend. As such, Coin Collector UK has urged people to check their 2p pieces to see whether they're worth between £800 and £1,000 - and it's all due to a mistake with Royal Mint.

However, be warned, as it's important to note that these coins are "very rare", and whilst they're unlikely to be lurking in your purse, it's well worth a look. Coin Collector UK shared a video on the error, captioning their post, writing: "Do you have any of these 2p coins?"

In the clip posted to TikTok, they shared that there are three different types of 2p coins in circulation currently. They explained: "The regular Welsh Feathers 2p, The Royal Shield of Arms 2p, and the one you want to be looking out for - the New Pence 2p.

"Between 1971 and 1981, all 2p coins had the words New Pence to celebrate the coin entering circulation. However, in 1983, the Royal Mint accidentally minted New Pence 2p coins in extremely limited numbers. These are very rare and go for around £1,000."

You likely have a lot of regular coins (@thecoincollectoruk/TikTok)

But do you have any minted New Pence 2p coins? (@thecoincollectoruk/TikTok)

The voiceover also shared that: "This was also the case with the One Penny coins as well during those years. However, the mistake was only made on the 2p in 1983, and all of the 1p coins were highly minted."

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This news comes after a 20p piece sold for over 1,000 times its value last month. The 20p fetched more than 1,000 times its face value after a week-long bidding war on eBay. The coin was minted back in 1983 onto a copper-coloured blank by mistake, resulting in a very rare bronze 20p. A seller flogging the coin was intrigued by it so sent it off to the Royal Mail back in 2016, and when it was put on eBay, it fetched £232.

Danielle Kate Wroe