The Royal Mint's rarest coin in circulation has sold for more than 200 times its face value on eBay this week. The King Charles III Atlantic Salmon 50p sparked a mini bidding war amid coin collectors on the auction site, as 16 bids were made on the rare coin before it sold for £101. The Royal Mint recently named the coin as the rarest currently in circulation in the UK, with just 200,000 copies minted.
The coin knocked the “highly collectable” 2009 Kew Gardens 50p off the top spot for the first time in 15 years, the official maker of British coins said. (Image: Royal Mint/PA Wire) Described by the Royal Mint as “the nation’s most collectable coin”, the 50p has seen over 100 different designs appear on its reverse since its introduction. Out of the 10 rarest 50ps in circulation, six are related to the 2012 London Olympic and Paralympic Games, with Peter Rabbit and Flopsy Bunny coins from 2018 both also making the list.
Five Incredibly Rare and Valuable British Coins What makes a coin valuable? The 50 pence piece has become the most valued and collected coin in the UK, with many collectable designs appearing on its heptagonal canvas. Its 27.5mm diameter makes it the largest of any British coin, and allows space for decorative pictures.
It has often been used to celebrate big events over the past 50 years of British history. The rarest coins tend to be of the greatest value, with the mintage (number of coins with each design made) being the fundamental attraction for .