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A man received a seemingly ordinary coin as part of his change while purchasing lunch. Unbeknownst to him, the current valuation of this coin is approximately $1,000—roughly 2,800 times its face value.
At an auction house in the United Kingdom on Wednesday, this extremely rare 25p coin—worth around 35 cents—will be up for grabs.
Were there ever coins like this before?
The head of coinage at RWB Auctions, Kimberly Day, noted to Business Insider that while there have been a few other examples that have been sold or auctioned off in the past, the number we are discussing is quite small. “It’s incredibly unusual,” she chimed in.
Very valuable coin
The fact that a 25p coin does not exist in regular UK money makes it extremely rare.
This example is listed in the auction catalog as having been struck in 1981 “as part of an experiment” by the Royal Mint, along with a small number of other trial coins. Finding a denomination that was a good compromise between the current 10p and 50p coins was the main objective.
The Royal Mint ultimately opted against issuing coins in the 25p denomination and instead introduced the 20p piece, which is widely used and has a very similar look.
What was once a simple coin has become a priceless artifact that fascinates history buffs and collectors. This intriguing item is on its way to auction, so be sure to follow its progress!
Historic Coin Sale: Antique 50 Cent Piece Becomes a $150,000 Treasure
The fact that the majority of individuals may have overlooked this coin is hardly surprising.
An Analysis of a Common British 20p Piece
Day from BI claims that the anonymous coin vendor from central England’s Shropshire is lucky to have excellent attention to detail. “I bet a lot of people have had these in their wallets or change and have likely just passed them on again,” she whispered.
The vendor remembered getting the coin as lunch change around five years ago and was initially taken aback by its peculiar appearance, as reported in An Unexpected Discovery Day. Knowing it was unique, he prudently kept it aside and resolved to have it analyzed when news of a comparable coin surfaced years later.
Rare and unusual
Due to its extreme rarity, this coin is practically unheard of on the internet. But that isn’t stopping coin collectors from being very interested in it. Quite a few fans have gone to the lengths of physically inspecting it at the auction house.
It’s astonishing how a seemingly insignificant coin can become a sought-after treasure by collectors worldwide.
