Posts by Change Checker
How much is my coin worth? – A five point guide.
How much is my coin worth? It’s a question I’m asked multiple times each day, and with some coins selling for many times their face value, I understand why you’d be keen to know.
The truth is, it’s very hard to tell you exactly what your coin is worth as it depends on so many variants. Coins are no different to any other kind of collectible in many ways; there are certain criteria which you should always look out for, which can help you to determine how collectible or valuable your coin is.
Often it’s a very difficult question to answer but with a little bit of detective work you should be able to work out an accurate value for your coin. I’ve put together some useful tips, in our 5 point guide below, to get you started:
1. Change Checker Scarcity Index
The first place to start is our Change Checker Scarcity Index. I believe this to be the single most accurate way of determining how scarce your coins are. Whilst it doesn’t give you an actual value we know that the value of a coin is directly linked to scarcity.
The Change Checker Scarcity Index is a very useful tool to help value your coin
Historically, when trying to determine the scarcity of a coin, the mintage figure was considered the most accurate indicator. Whilst the mintage figures are undoubtedly important, our Scarcity Index also takes into consideration some very useful data from our Change Checker web app.
We combine the mintage information with two other key pieces of information:
- How many of each design are listed as “collected” by Change Checkers, indicating the relative ease of finding a particular coin.
- The number of times a design has been requested as a swap over the previous 3 months, showing the current level of collector demand.
It’s very simple to work out how scarce your coin is, each coin is given a score out of 100, the higher the score the more scarce that coin is.
2. eBay is best
Once you’ve determined the scarcity of your coin the next step would be to take a look at what has recently sold on eBay. It’s very important that you make sure you look at ‘recently sold’ coins and not just those that have been listed. Essentially, anybody can list a coin on eBay and charge whatever amount they wish.
By checking the recently sold items (and I’d suggest you look at the previous 3-5 coins sold) you will get an accurate indication of what people are willing to pay for a particular coin.
Make sure you look the ‘Sold Listings’ on eBay to check the price people are paying for coins.
Also, if you are looking to sell any coins in your collection, I’d definitely recommend eBay as the easiest, and importantly, the most secure platform to do this.
3. Are your coins still available to buy in BU quality?
Next, it’s worth checking if the coin in your collection is still available to purchase in superior Brilliant Uncirculated quality from an official Royal Mint distributor. If it is still for sale, it’s unlikely that people would purchase a circulation quality coin for the same price.
If Brilliant Uncirculated coins are still available to purchase, it’s unlikely people will buy a circulation quality coin.
If there are no longer any BU coins available to buy, this will work in your favour as collectors will then look for circulation quality coins to add to their collections.
4. Coin condition
It’s definitely worth checking the condition of your coin as this will, almost always, have an effect on the value. It’s no surprise that collectors favour the more pristine coins to those that are showing signs of wear and tear due to circulation.
The condition of your coin will likely affect its value.
However, your coin’s condition is not the be all and end all; it’s very rare to find a circulation 2002 Commonwealth Games £2 coin in good condition yet these sell for many times their face value.
5. Is there a story?
This can often tie-in with rarity, as the coins with a good story behind them tend to be the ones which are difficult to get your hands on! The “undated 20p” is a recent example of a such a coin. It is known as a ‘mule’ – a coin with a mismatched obverse and reverse (heads and tails). The name derives from a mule being the hybrid offspring of a horse and donkey.
The ‘undated 20p’ generated a huge amount of media coverage resulting in coins selling for many times their face value.
In 2008 when the reverse of the 20p coin changed to the new Royal Shield design, approximately 100,000 coins were accidentally struck with the previous obverse die and therefore there was no date on the coin.
In a similar way to the Kew Gardens story, some of the prices being quoted as a result of media coverage were extraordinary. Mules are highly sought after by collectors, and an undated 20p will certainly be worth more than its face value in years to come.
It’s always good to remember that if your coin is legal tender, it will always be worth at least its face value.The good news…
That’s why I think change collecting is the best hobby you could have!
If you’re interested in coin collecting, our Change Checker web app is completely free to use and allows users to:
– Find and identify the coins in their pocket
– Collect and track the coins they have
– Swap their spare coins with other Change Checkers
Sign up today at: www.changechecker.org/app
Is this a new £1 minting ‘error’?!
Last year we reported on the ‘Dual-dated £1 coin error’ where the dates on the obverse and reverse were different, one reading 2016 and the other 2017.
Now another £1 coin ‘error’ has been discovered and this one is very interesting indeed! It would appear that a 12-sided £1 coin die has been struck on an old round £1 coin blank.
The latest £1 ‘error’ coin appears to be a 12-sided £1 die struck on an old round £1 coin base. (Image: Zeki Atma)
In the past week alone, we’ve seen 3 examples of this ‘error’ coin.
The first was from a Change Checker from Burnham-on-Sea who told us that they’d listed the coin on eBay. After receiving 22 bids, the coin sold for £205!
One of the first examples of this ‘error’ coin has sold for £205 on eBay!
Another coin is being sold at an auction in London on Wednesday 21st February. The auctioneers, ‘Timeline’, who are based in Berkeley Square, describe the coin as an “exceptional modern rarity” and go on to say “…the coin is sure to attract much attention when it crosses the block later this year”.
Another example of this latest ‘error’ will be available to purchase at auction on the 21st February. (Image: Coin news)
The third report we have received was this morning from another Change Checker. Our advice to anybody who believes they have found this coin, or any other ‘error’ coins, would be to send the coin off to The Royal Mint Museum who offer a free verification service.
They will send the coin back to you with confirmation of their findings, which can take a few weeks depending on demand for the service. Here is the address:
Dr Kevin Clancy, Director of the Museum, The Royal Mint Museum, Llantrisant, Pontyclun, CF72 8YT
As yet, we have not seen proof that these coins have been verified by The Mint, so whilst they look genuine we will keep an open mind for the time being.
As usual, if you think you have found one of these coins or any other interesting ‘errors’, we’d love to hear from you.
Introducing the new Change Checker eBay Tracker!
I am contacted many times each day by Change Checkers asking, “How much is my coin worth?”.
In truth, the value of a coin is simply what a collector is willing to pay. However, I cannot deny that certain coins do regularly command many times more than face value when sold on auction sites.
There is a lot of misinformation reported in the press regarding coin valuations. News outlets regularly report common coins being worth many thousands of pounds, simply because somebody has listed it for an extortionate amount of money.
In reality, nobody is ever going to pay thousands of pounds for a circulation Benjamin Britten 50p (despite it being a lovely coin!).
To help determine a realistic price for some of the most sought after UK circulation coins, I’m delighted to introduce the Change Checker eBay Tracker, which compares the median price paid for recent completed eBay sales for 10 of the UK’s most popular coins and banknotes.
As you may expect, with the high levels of press coverage surrounding circulating coins and banknotes, prices have generally increased over the period.
The Kew Gardens 50p will now set you back £82, £10 more than 6 months ago. The Jemima Puddle-Duck 50p has more than doubled in its selling price and the Olympic Football 50p is now regularly purchased for over £10.
The AA01 serial numbered polymer £10 banknotes are selling for £21 and it’ll be very interesting to see if this level on interest continues during the next 6 months.
How does the eBay Tracker work?
The Change Checker eBay Tracker takes the last 9 sold prices achieved on eBay and gives the median price achieved (rounded to the nearest 50p). By taking the median, rather than an average, we avoid skewing created by one or two excessive prices achieved.
Please note that the Change Checker eBay Tracker is only ever designed to be a guide as to prices achieved on eBay. Prices may vary depending on collector demand and the quality of the coin being sold. It does not provide any guarantee as to future values of coins.