From the rarest 50p in circulation to a ‘collector’s dream’ with an error that makes it highly sought-after, here’s what to check your change for
It’s always worth checking your change to see if you have any rare coins in your possession that could make you a small fortune – and experts have revealed which designs are worth the most right now. The news will have households digging into bags and pockets in a bid to find these valuable coins.
Change Checker has released its latest eBay Tracker update, which shows how much the rarest coins were selling for on the secondary market as of August 2025. And while the median sale price for the most sought-after design may have decreased since the last update in December 2024, it is still worth a staggering 238 times its face value.
This is the famous Kew Gardens 50p, a design released in 2009 featuring the Chinese Pagoda at the London botanical garden wrapped in a leafy vine, which according to the latest eBay sales is currently worth £119 on average. This is despite it being knocked off the top spot as the rarest 50p in the UK by the 2023 Atlantic Salmon 50p featuring King Charles, which itself makes the eBay tracker with an average sale price of £64.05.
Other 50ps that are currently among the most valuable designs according to eBay sales include the 1992/93 EEC 50p, which celebrates the UK’s presidency of the European Council of Ministers and the completion of the Single Market. Featuring a conference table seen from above with 12 stars representing each member of the EEC, this coin had a mintage figure around half that of the Kew Gardens 50p, and is currently selling for £36 on average.
Elsewhere on the list is the Olympic Football 50p, part of a series released to mark the 2012 London Olympics which is now worth £16.13 on average, and the 2018 Peter Rabbit 50p featuring the beloved Beatrix Potter character, worth £5.97. But it’s not just 50ps that avid coin collectors should be keeping an eye out for.
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The Undated 20p is one of the most valuable coins you can find in your change according to the eBay figures, with an average sale price of £44.05 – 220 times its face value – although this has decreased from £64 back in December. This highly sought-after coin features the late Queen Elizabeth on the heads side and does not have a year on it.
Experts at Change Checker previously dubbed this 20p the “holy grail of change collecting”, as it has not been confirmed how many of these error coins made it into circulation. “When it comes to coins that many collectors dream to find in their change, the Undated 20p is right at the top of the list,” the experts said.
Meanwhile, a new entry to the list is the 2025 Bee £1, which has been added to the eBay tracker following the recent announcement that this King Charles coin has a mintage of just 170,000 – making it the rarest £1 currently in circulation. Currently selling for an average of £12.90 on eBay, the experts said “now is the best time” to secure one of the first batch of this coin.
And the rarest £2 coin in circulation, the 2002 Commonwealth Games Northern Ireland £2, has also made the most recent eBay tracker, with an average sale price of £33.96 – one of the only coins to have seen its average value increase since last year. “It’s one of the rarest coins out there, but having been in circulation for over 23 years, a large percentage of them have most likely been snapped up by collectors already,” Change Checker noted.
But it’s not just coins that are selling for more than their face value – the new King Charles banknotes also feature on the tracker. The King Charles £5 banknote is being sold for an average price of £9.03 on eBay, while the £10 note featuring the King is fetching £18.05.
