UR wallet is probably full of 2p pieces – but it might be worth checking your change as some of these coins could be worth hundreds of pounds.
We reveal the rarest 2p coins that are in circulation.
Hundreds of millions of two pence coins are minted every year, so most are only worth their original value.
But there are some error coins which have mistakes on them that make them rarer and more valuable for coin collectors.
Some of the rarest 2p coins are a small batch from 1983 which were accidentally minted with the words “new pence” on them instead of “two pence”, according to the Royal Mint.
All 2p coins printed between 1971 and 1981 had “new pence” printed on them but after that, the writing changed to “two pence.”
Other error coins include 2ps that have been minted on silver instead of copper.
However, it’s worth noting that coins are only really worth what someone is willing to pay for them.
You should also be careful to check your coin is legitimate by asking the Royal Mint.
We’ve rounded up the ones to look out for in your wallet.
hese 2p coins are considered rare because they were accidentally printed onto a silver base instead of copper.
If you find one, experts at Coin Hunter reckon they could be worth up to £600.
But again, coins are only worth what someone is willing to pay for them and we haven’t seen one sell for this much in recent months.
In fact, one on eBay only sold for £17.99 last year, and another went for £56 in 2019 on the auction site.
But there have been other examples of these coins fetching £1,350 in 2016.
It’s unclear exactly how many are in circulation.
“New pence” 1983 2p coin – up to £300
All 2p coins struck between 1971 and 1981 had the words “new pence” on the reverse side of the coin, according to the Royal Mint.
After that, the wording was changed to “two pence”.
But in 1983, a small number of coins were mistakenly struck with the words “new pence” again.
It’s made these coins extremely valuable for collectors.
There haven’t been any recent legitimate sales of this coin on eBay so it’s hard to know how much they could be worth, but they are often listed for sale on eBay for more than £1,000.
Last year, one sold for £300 on eBay – more than 15,050 times its value.
Silver 2p coin 1971 – up to £40
Error silver 2p coins from 1971 are regularly sold on eBay, and can fetch you a tidy sum.
Like the ones from 2016, these are coins that should be copper but don’t have the right plating on them.
One recently sold for £40 on eBay and in 2019, another sold for £40 after 11 bids from collectors.
The same year, one fetched a whopping £485 on eBay but this high price hasn’t been seen since.
The Royal Mint hasn’t officially recognised them as an error coin yet but they are sought after by collectors.
-THE SUN