In 2016 The Royal Mint introduced the Beatrix Potter 50p series to celebrate 250 years since the birth of the renowned Children’s author, Beatrix Potter and the Peter Rabit coin was released in 2019
A rare Peter Rabbit 50p coin has sold on eBay for 32 times its face value.
The Royal Mint introduced the Beatrix Potter 50p series in 2016 to celebrate 250 years since the birth of the renowned children’s author, Beatrix Potter. The Peter Rabbit coin was released in 2019 and the reverse features an original illustration of Peter Rabbit by Beatrix Potter, with the obverse of the coin showing the late Queen Elizabeth II.
The Royal Mint struck the coin as a commemorative piece and it was originally not put into circulation. This meant you could only buy the coin from the Royal Mint website for a fee of £10. However, some have made it into circulation with a group of coin enthusiasts called The Great British Coin Hunt spending 400 of them in shops across the country.
This technically makes it one of the UK’s “rarest” coins compared to others released by the Royal Mint. However, it is only worth its face value of 50p if you end up spending it. On eBay, one seller managed to sell the coin for 32 times its face value, fetching £16. This is £6 more than the cost of the coin from the Royal Mint.
The listing was put up on February 2 with a starting price of £12. Two people ended up battling against each other the next week for the coin putting up three bids. The auction ended on February 9 with the winning bid being £16. The winner also had to pay £3 to have the coin delivered so overall the bidder spent nearly £20.
If you find yourself in possession of a rare coin you may want to follow others and sell it. However, selling a coin on eBay is never guaranteed and a coin is only ever worth what someone is willing to pay for it. This means you could potentially make a lot of money from a coin but it is not guaranteed.
If you are a collector, then you should also keep in mind that fake coins can appear online too, so always be wary before handing over any cash. Websites and Facebook groups from change experts like Coin Hunter can help you work out if a coin is the real deal or not. You can also get coins verified by the Royal Mint.
