Find out how some 5p coins could be worth around £50
Get checking your change
Last updated 20th Apr 2018
Every once in a while we hear about a special coin which is worth a lot more than its face value. We've had the £1 coins which are worth over £100, the 10p coin which is worth much more than its face value, and now it's the turn of the smallest coin around, the 5p.
The current 5p was introduced in 1990 and was much smaller than the original coin used up until that date. Since their introduction over a billion coins have been minted, and while most designs are very common, there are a couple of designs that you should look out for.
According to The Mirror, a 5p coin from 1993 could be worth more than its face value. 1993 5p coins are rare as very few coins were minted - compared to the usual millions. Although the the 5p coins aren't worth loads more, they are currently being sold on eBay for around £13.50.
Another coin you should look out for is from 2008. These 'error' coins from 2008 were printed 'upside down', when comparing the front and back, and these have been selling for around £50 on eBay! They are also believed to be in demand from collectors because they are so rare.
2008 seemed to be a bad year for the Royal Mint who also managed to print a number of 20p coins without a date! These coins are also worth hanging onto and possibly selling on eBay.
In other coin news, this week it was revealed that only a small number of the new A to Z 10p coins have gone into circulation. The Royal Mint has released a massive 26 new designs for the 10p coin last month. Featuring designs such as a cup of tea, fish and chips, cricket, and the Loch Ness monster, these 26 coins map out the A-Z of what makes Britain great – from the Angel of the North to a Zebra Crossing.
As well as the physical coins The Royal Mint also introduced the Great British Coin Hunt app which allows coin hunters to create a digital collection of the coins they find in their change.
See all of the new designs in the gallery below:
A – Angel of the North
B – Bond…James Bond
C – Cricket
D – Double Decker Bus
E – English Breakfast
F – Fish & Chips
G – Greenwich Mean Time
H – Houses of Parliament
I – Ice-Cream Cone
J – Jubilee
K – King Arthur
L – Loch Ness Monster
M – Mackintosh
N – National Health Service
O – Oak Tree
P – Post Box
Q – Queuing
R – Robin
S – Stonehenge
T – Teapot
U – Union Flag
V – Village
W – World Wide Web
X – X Marks the Spot
Y – Yeoman
Z – Zebra Crossing
In addition to these designs, of course there is the chance of some coins released into circulation being worth more than their face value. According to the website ChangeChecker, they are expecting these designs to be "very collectible" saying that from "past history and you’ll see that over 75% of the 2012 Olympic 50p coins have now been taken out of circulation."
In the past 'error' coins have also been sold on websites such as eBay for as much as £31! Just a few weeks ago someone sold a 10p from 1970 which was made using a 'thin blank' which is narrower than it should be.