I’m a coin expert – full list of Queen Elizabeth II coins that have gone up in price and could be in your change

SINCE the death of Her Majesty the Queen, demand for coins and notes featuring her portrait have soared.

The Queen reigned from 1952 to 2022, so many of us will only ever remember having her face on our change.

Expert Alex Siddons from Change Checker, says collectors are parting with a fair bit of cash to get their hands on certain coins.

Change Checker follows the prices of UK coins based on eBay sales and uses the median sold price to create a tracker.

Alex said if you had all the coins listed in the eBay tracker, you could be sitting on a whopping £500.

This means that there’s a chance the small coins in your change might be worth a big fortune.

Alex said: “We’ve never seen the basket values of all these coins up so high.

“Collectors are currently looking to close gaps in their collections because once the Queen Elizabeth coins are gone, that’s it – no more are going to be minted.

“This means all of them are essentially limited now.”

It’s important to remember that you aren’t guaranteed to fetch huge amounts if you do choose to sell your change.

The price of a coin varies based on things like demand at the time and how common it is.

Anyone can list a coin on eBay and charge whatever amount they wish, but it’s only ever worth what someone is willing to pay.By checking the recently sold items you will get a more accurate indication of what people are willing to pay for a specific coin.

The Celeb Report picked Alex’s brain to find out which coins and notes featuring Queen’s are the most valuable and the exact designs you should be looking out for.

Queen Elizabeth II Memorial 50p with King Charles III obverse – £2.50

To commemorate the life of the Queen, The Royal Mint released a new 50p coin into circulation last year.

The coin features the brand new-portrait of King Charles III, which was seen for the first time in October.

While the Queen doesn’t feature on the coin explicitly, there is a tribute to Her late Majesty on the reverse.

The 50p features the design that originally appeared on coins to commemorate her coronation at Westminster Abbey in 1953.

Change Checker’s tracker found that these coins are now going for an average of £2.50 on eBay.

While this may seem like a relatively small amount, it is a 400% increase in its face value.

Undated 20p – £50

The undated 20p became the first coin in more than 300 years to enter circulation without a date, according to Change Checker.

It is estimated by The Royal Mint that no more than 250,000 coins made it into circulation.

Alex said: “There’s no surprise people are prepared to pay a pretty penny on the secondary market to secure one for their collection.”

The coin, which entered circulation in 2008, features the same 20p design that we are all familiar with, showing the the Lion Rampant of Scotland and the Lions Passants of England.

Queen Elizabeth II’s portrait features on the obverse side.

The undated 50p has increased by £25 in two years – with the average eBay sale now standing at around £50.

Northern Ireland £2 Commonwealth Games coin – £68

The Northern Ireland £2 Commonwealth Games coin is the rarest £2 coin to have ever entered circulation, Alex said.

There are four different designs of the £2 commemorative coin, which were minted in 2002.

They were made to mark the games being held in Manchester.

There are four different designs – all are similar except that they feature different flags for the four countries of the UK.

The rarest is the coin that represents Northern Ireland.

Alex said: “The design is really hard to spot because it’s just a tiny motif to represent Northern Ireland.

“The coin has increased in value by around £31. So if you have coins collected in a jar, now might be a good time to see what you have hiding in there.”

This coin is selling for an average of £68 on eBay, compared with £37.50 two years ago.

2018 Sir Issac Newton 50p – £50

The 2018 Isaac Newton coins were not released into circulation by The Royal Mint, so it’s actually very unlikely you will find one of these simply in your change.

Change Checker had predicted at the time that the limited run could well have been substantially less than 210,000.

We don’t know exactly how many made their way home to avid coin collections across the country though.

But if you are lucky enough to have one, you could make up to £50.

Kew Gardens 50p – £167

Kew Gardens is best-known for its beautiful trees, flowers and scenery.

A 50p coin was released into circulation in 2009 that recognised the British landmark.

It features the site’s iconic Chinese Pagoda and the Queen’s portrait on the obverse side.

Alex said the coin is currently selling at its highest price since 2017.

On average, the coin sells for an average of £167 on eBay – an increase of £11 from two years ago.

Olympic football 50p – £14

The Royal Mint issued 29 new coins in 2011 to commemorate the 2012 Olympics held in London.

But ten years on, there’s still some in circulation which could be worth hundreds.

Alex says the football coin is the rarest, with just 1,125,000 entering circulation.

The coin now goes for an average of £14 on eBay.

But there are other coins in this same collection that can be just as valuable.

The wresting, judo and triathlon coins are also popular among collectors.

Alex said: “It’s likely these coins are just going to carry on going up in value.

“So many of them have been taken out of circulation into private collections so you’ll be very lucky to find one.”

Of course there’s never any guarantee that something will go up in value.

But the more scarce something becomes, the more people might be willing to pay, especially if it completes their collection

AAO1 polymer £5 banknote – £30

Serial numbers on notes can make them special and unique – like with this fiver.

The first note – with a AA01 000001 number was presented to The Queen leaving up to only 999,998 other fivers with the AA01 prefix.

It’s the fact that it’s the first range printed in the series which makes it more appealing to collectors.

In some cases fivers with the low serial number have been sold for thousands of pounds online, with one dad of three making more than £1,000 from his mini collection.

On average, they can fetch around £30 on eBay – an increase of £34 from two years. ago.

AAO1 polymer £10 banknote – £25

If you come across a £10 note with an AA serial number, you might just be able to bag some big money.

Serial numbers for each note are key – you can find these numbers on the top left of the face with the Queen’s image. 

This is just under the £10 value in the corner of the note. 

Alex said these notes are currently selling for an average of £25 on eBay now, compared to £18 in 2021.

The 92/93 EEC 50p and Jemima Puddle Duck 50p

These 50ps are the only ones in Change Checker’s tracker to have decreased in value over the last two years.

The 92/93 EEC 50ps were released by the Royal Mint between 1992 and 1993.

They were to celebrate the British presidency of the council of Europe, and only 109,000 were ever made.

In January 2021, the coins would fetch around £64, but now you’d be more likely to get around £40.50 if looked to sell it on.

While this is a decrease, it’s still a huge increase in the coin’s face value.

Jemima Puddle-duck is yet another classic character to appear on 50p coins and is sought after by coin collectors and fans of the children’s tale alike.

The coin was issued in 2016 to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the popular character featured in Beatrix Potter’s children’s book.

The coin was worth an average of £12 in 2021, but that has now fallen to £11.

But, as with the EEC 50ps, it’s still a big increase on its face value.

And it’s not to say that their price could go up again in the future.

How do I check if my coin is rare?

Rare coins and valuable notes can be worth tens of thousands of times their face value.

But sometimes it’s just tiny differences which make them so lucrative.

The most valuable coins tend to be ones with low mintage numbers or an error.

Those qualities typically make them valuable to collectors.

Your next step would be to check if your coin is still available to purchase in superior Brilliant Uncirculated quality from an official Royal Mint distributor, according to Change Checker.

Certified Brilliant Uncirculated coins have been specially struck to a superior unblemished quality which set them apart from the coins you may find in pockets.

Selling a coin at auction or through a dealer

There are many different factors to consider when trying to value a coin, including its condition and mintage, so it’s important to do your homework first.

If you’ve got a coin that you would like to sell at auction, you can contact The Royal Mint’s Collectors Service.

It has a team of experts who can help you to authenticate and value your coin.

You’ll need to enquire via email, and a member of the valuation team will contact get back to you.

Take a picture of your coin and attach this to the email – you can find the details on The Royal Mint’s website.

Be aware that you will be charged for this service though – the cost will vary depending on the size of your collection.

If you are looking to buy a coin online through a marketplace such as eBay, it’s important to know exactly what you are purchasing.

This is because anyone can list a coin on eBay and charge whatever amount they wish.

You should also be wary of fakes online – and keep in mind that on eBay a buyer could pull out, which means the coin won’t have sold for the price it says it has.

Meanwhile, we have put together a guide on the rarest and most valuable coins.

We also tell you what you should do if you find a lucky penny in your pocket.

Do you have a money problem that needs sorting? Get in touch by emailing [email protected]