27 March 2023 , 13:17
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A rare 50p coin has been sold for 468 times its face value after being listed on the secondhand sales website eBay last week.
The coin in question was released in 2009 to mark 250 years since Kew Gardens opened in 1759 and the Royal Mint estimates around 210,000 were made.
The 50p coin features the Chinese Pagoda at the Royal Botanic Garden on the tails side with the Queen's face as normal on the other.
The coin had a starting price of just 99p when it was listed on March 5, which was just under double its worth.
However, a bidding war soon ensued between 11 different bidders taking the price up into the hundreds.
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The 50p coin features the Chinese Pagoda at the Royal Botanic Garden with the former Queen's portrait on the other side (PA)The coin surpassed the £100 mark the next day on March 6 and eventually went up to its final selling price of £234.00 on March 12 after 26 bids.
On top of the £234, the buyer also had to pay £7.65 for "Express Delivery" so overall the buyer paid £241.65 for the 50p coin.
The "Express Delivery" was a well-needed safety net for the buyer as the coin was shipped "fully insured" through Royal Mails Next Day Delivery.
The buyer, who said they are themselves an avid coin collector, said the 50p was in "excellent condition" and was "very sought after" for a coin collector.
The seller also noted that the coin had been a part of his own private collection for several years.
There are several of these 50p coins currently up for sale on eBay with some listings currently between £160 to £230.
Most of these coins have up to 40 watchers on the listing.
One seller has optimistically set their starting bid at £2,000.
However, before you dive into your wallet to check for this coin, you will need to be aware of another coin which is very similar but does not fetch as much.
The Royal Mint reissued another batch of the Kew Gardens coins in 2019 to celebrate 50 years of the 50p.
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Sadly, this coin will not give you a three-figure payout but it could sell for between £70 and £80 on eBay if you found the right buyer.