Minor detail to spot on ultra-rare 1p coin listed on eBay for £120,000 – do you have one in your piggy bank?
COIN collectors have been urged to check their piggy bank for an ultra-rare 1p coin.
The coin, with just one minor detail, is currently being listed on eBay for a life-changing sum.
A TikTok user recently claimed the 1933 George V penny was up for sale on the site for £120,000.
In the video, they said: “Generations of people searched through their change in the hope of finding one.”
At the time of posting, they revealed bidding had reached as high as £90,000.
But you’ll have to check your pennies carefully as the odds of finding one are extremely slim.
According to experts, only six or seven were ever made.
This is because the banks had such a large stock of pennies in 1933 they didn’t strike any more for general circulation.
However, there was a convention at the time that complete sets of coins of the current year were buried underneath the foundation stones of new buildings.
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Three 1933 pennies were struck for buildings that year as well as a small number of copies for the British Museum and Royal Mint Museum.
With no record of the precise number of coins minted, it seemed possible one might turn up for everyday use prompting generations to search for the valuable penny.
One was placed beneath the University of London’s Senate House, where it remains today while another was stolen from a Leeds church in 1970.
The coin features King George V on one side and a seated Britannia on the other.
But coin experts have warned that fakes of the penny are common with criminals trying to cash in by creating fakes.
Many also mistakenly believe that are in possession of the rare 1933 penny when in fact, it is likely to be the far more common 1936 penny.
If you don’t find one in your piggy bank there are other rare coins to be on the look out for.
Only recently, an ultra-rare 1p coin from 1954 appeared at auction with a reserve price of £90,000.
Other coins also rake in the cash with a 2p with the wording “New Pence” instead of “Two pence” at a value of around £1,000.
Some 2012 Olympic 50p coins featuring a cartoon-style high jumper have also been sold for £142 and £216.
A rare misprint of the same coin with horizontal lines has fetched up to £3,000.
Even £2 coins with a cat design could be worth 100 times their face value so there’s plenty of reason to sort through any loose change.
How to spot valuable items
COMMENT by Consumer Editor, Alice Grahns:
It’s easy to check if items in your attic are valuable.
As a first step, go on eBay to check what other similar pieces, if not the same, have sold for recently.
Simply search for your item, filter by “sold listings” and toggle by the highest value.
This will give you an idea of how much others are willing to pay for it.
The method can be used for everything ranging from rare coins and notes to stamps, old toys, books and vinyl records – just to mention a few examples.
For coins, online tools from change experts like Coin Hunter are also helpful to see how much it could be worth.
Plus, you can refer to Change Checker’s latest scarcity index update to see which coins are topping the charts.
For especially valuable items, you may want to enlist the help of experts or auction houses.
Do your research first though and be aware of any fees for evaluating your stuff.
As a rule of thumb, rarity and condition are key factors in determining the value of any item.
You’re never guaranteed to make a mint, however.