Is that 20p worth £50?
Filed under: Weird and Wonderful
How much could that handful of change be worth, a couple of quid? Nope, according to reports today, it could be worth a fortune, as the Royal Mint has just announced it has made some mistakes on some 20p pieces, which could make them very valuable indeed.
So what are you looking for, and what can you do to cash in?
It seems that earlier this year the mint changed designs. The date has always been on the tails side of the coin, but to go with the new design, it was meant to move onto the heads side. A glitch in the system meant this didn't happen, so the mint made somewhere between 50,000 and 200,000 of these coins without a date stamped on it at all.
So get your coins out, and check for any without a date.
If you have one of the rare ones, you're in the money.
At the moment a private coin company called the Royal Mint Office is offering to buy them for £50. If you want to sell, just visit www.undated20p.com and register.
Alternatively, you can hang onto it. According to the experts this could be worth as much as £200 in ten year's time, so keep it somewhere safe, and it could be a handy little nest egg in future.
Personally I'd hang onto it. £50 is a lot to pass up, but it's quite a quirky thing to own, and the idea of it appreciating in value is pretty cool too.
Mind you, speaking as one of the millions of people who held onto old 1/2 pence pieces and 5ps, just in case they are ever worth anything (highly unlikely), I have a bit of a history of hopeful coin hoarding.
Now if you're excuse me, I'm off to ransack the house for loose change.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
6-29-2009 @ 8:17AM
Susie said...
I can not get on to the site to sell 20p it just keeps saying error can't fing web site
Reply
6-29-2009 @ 8:26AM
Anthony Morgan said...
That's due to the fact that the news item has messed the link up - here's the real link; http://www.undated20p.com/
Reply
6-29-2009 @ 8:34AM
Sarah Coles said...
That should be sorted now. Thanks for pointing it out!
Reply
6-29-2009 @ 8:54AM
Anna said...
Are the 5p and 10p worth anything as I have some of those which too are mis-printed
Reply
6-29-2009 @ 9:32AM
Holly said...
So If I Have One Of The 20p's And It Has No Date On The Side OfThe Picture... Is It Worth Something.. Or If The Coin Has No Date On At All?
Reply
6-29-2009 @ 9:41AM
maryofdungloe said...
.................. so in 20 years time then I could be minted?
geddit minted lol
DOH lol
Reply
6-30-2009 @ 4:03PM
Adrian said...
I have just gone through my 20p jar ( i collect them) and i have 23 of them WOOOOOOOOO HOOOOOOOOO
23 x 50 = £1150.
perhaps i will sell half now and save some for later.
Reply
6-29-2009 @ 10:32AM
Paul said...
This 'new design' was available in 2008 with the date on the head side
Reply
6-29-2009 @ 5:56PM
Ryan said...
Grrr... I could kick myself! I had one of these coins not so long ago and wondered why there was no date on it!
Reply
6-29-2009 @ 11:09AM
Russ said...
Here is a question regarding the 20p coins. If you worked in a shop and a customer gave you one of these 20p coins and you noticed it and exchanged it for a normal 20p coin, would you be guilty of theft?
Reply
6-29-2009 @ 11:20AM
roy said...
You mentioned that you hoarded the old half pennies
'But not worth much??????'
Well the value of the old happeny is hardly worth anything but
they withdrew them in a hurry as they were the same size and weight of the new 2p when we changed over. Now in old money 2 1/2 new P = 6 pence or 12 half pennies.
What a mark up?
Many went back mixed in bags of 2p's to the bank. so not a massive amount but you should have made a bob or two!
Reply
6-29-2009 @ 12:32PM
Andrew Hazell said...
if you accept £50 for this coin you are a fool. Errors like this dont happen very often but when they do it means collectors get hungry. If the government is offering you £50 then what is a collector going to offer you....well if you look on ebay upward of £150. even if the government are right with thier high end estimate of 200,000 printed like this there are more coin collectors in the world which means higher demand than supply. Personally i would be shocked if the mint were not going to keep everyone sold to them and then sell them off in 10 years time when they are worth even more. If you have one keep it or sell it to someone who really wants it for thier collection.
Reply
6-29-2009 @ 12:47PM
AM said...
This is just an personal details gathering scheme by a Marketing company. THIS IS NOT , REPEAT NOT, the Royal Mint. This is a scam to obtain names ,address, and telephone numbers.
Nothing whatsoever with the Royal Mint.
Reply
6-29-2009 @ 5:23PM
me said...
for £50 they can have my marketing details u donut
6-29-2009 @ 12:53PM
julie said...
i got one with date on head side but no date on tail is that one of the coins u on about
Reply
6-29-2009 @ 1:37PM
anon said...
NO the coin needs toi have no date at all
6-29-2009 @ 12:59PM
alan said...
The Royal Mint is in llantrisant not london
Reply
6-29-2009 @ 1:33PM
Patrycja said...
hi, i've got 1p with the same error, how much is that worth?
Reply
6-29-2009 @ 4:15PM
chrissey said...
I have still got a bag of the pre 1947 silver coins which in 72/73 were worth a lot more than their face value. Is there any value to them now?
Reply
6-30-2009 @ 6:54AM
Viviana said...
The London Mint Office is a online coin collector not the Royal Mint as it would be a .gov address, I think. Why do they want to gather all your information then have you post the coin? Sounds quite odd to me.
Why has the Royal Mint not made a statement?
I would love any information you guys might have.
Reply