Every now and then it seems that there's a mistake as coins are printed and recently a rare £1 coin has been gaining interest.
As you will know last March a new £1 coin was introduced, said to be the most state of the art coin so far, with loads of security features. However, now it seems there are a few with a mistake which have made it into circulation, and they could be worth £100s if you've got one.
According to the Changer Checker blog this 'minting error' £1 coin has the 12-sided design on an 'old' round pound coin! They are reporting they have seen three of these error coins in a week and recently one was sold on eBay for over £200 after 22 bids!
Another example of this error is due to go up for auction later this month in London and has been described as an 'exceptional modern rarity'.
Although there has been no official confirmation from The Royal Mint that these coins are genuine, Changer Checker suggests anyone who finds these unusual coins should contact The Royal Mint to have the coin verified, using their free verification service.
See our gallery of special coins below:
Special Money - coins and notes
1 of 14UK Crowned Shield £1 coin
Although they are fairly common, they can currently fetch around £3 - £5.50. They are one of the oldest £1 coins around having been minted in 1988, just five years after the £1 coin was introduced.
2 of 14Edinburgh City £1 coin
This was released in 2011 and is thought to be worth £12 - £16.
3 of 14Scotland's Thistle and Bluebell £1 coin
Even with a mintage of 5.1 million it is worth £3 - £5 to collectors.
4 of 14Cardiff City £1 coin
This coin features the Coat of Arms of Cardiff as the principal focus to represent Wales. It is thought to be worth £11 - £15.
5 of 14London City £1 coin
Although more common than the Scottish and Welsh versions it is still worth £5 - £8.
6 of 14EC and Kew Gardens
Dating back to 1992/3 this larger 50p coin (left) was issued to celebrate the British presidency of the council of Europe. No longer in circulation could be worth around £40.The Kew Gardens design was minted to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the foundation of the Royal Botanic Gardens. Only 210,000 coins were made and is now expected to sell on eBay for £70 - £100.
7 of 142011 WWF and 2012 The Offside Explained
2011 WWF design of the 50p (left) can often sell for around £200 to collectors.The Offside Explained 50p apparently regularly changes hands for around £10.
8 of 142012 Olympics - Swimmer
Early versions of the coin show the swimmer with the water covering their head, however later versions have the lines of water removed.According to eBay only 600 of the early version are in circulation, fetching up to £3000 when they were first placed on eBay.
9 of 14New fiver (£5)
The new £5 note was released into circulation on the 13th September 2016. Notes with serial numbers starting with AA or AK 47 sold for much more than than their face value.
10 of 14New tenner (£10)
The new £10 note, featuring Jane Austen was released on 14th September 2017.As before many with the serial number AA or AK 47 were highly sought after as well as those with serial numbers relating to Jane Austen's birthday, date of death, or date the Pride and Prejudice was first published.
11 of 14Peter Rabbit 50p
The Peter Rabbit collectable coin is available to buy from the Royal Mint.
12 of 14Benjamin Bunny 50p
Benjamin Bunny was released earlier this year (2017).
13 of 14Tom Kitten 50p
Tom Kitten was released earlier this year (2017).
14 of 14Jeremy Fisher 50p
Jeremy Fisher was released earlier this year (2017).
This isn't the first time there have been 'error' £1 coins, last year we reported about some other £1 coins which were potentially worth a lot more than their face value, due to a dye error. According to Alex Cassidy from GoCompare's Coining It In, the floral crown on the back of the coin should be examined to see if there are any rotations. The Queen's head should also sit directly above the new bevelled edge, so if it doesn't, the coin could be worth more than £1.
See all the features of the £1 below:
In 2016 over 200,000 coins were sent out as test coins and are not legal tender, however they were spotted on eBay selling for over £70!
Now take a look at 12 things you probably didn't know about the £1 coin >>