It’s worth having a rummage around in your change for this coin with Queen Elizabeth II on the front
A 5p coin has been sold for 100 times its shop value. It was minted with a rare ‘blob’ on it.
The coin was sold for £5 on eBay on Sunday, March 22. Featuring Queen Elizabeth II on the front and the Royal Shield design on the reverse, the 2012 coin was minted with a rare error.
There is an extra blob of metal on the reverse side of the coin, in the centre of the shield. The seller believes the minting error happened as a result of ‘cracked die being used’ when the coin was in production.
Described in the item listing as ‘rare’, the error is thought to have made the coin’s value rise. The listing reads: “A Circulated, British, 2012, Elizabeth II, Minting Error, 5p Coin. The error is a small globule of metal on the reverse which I believe is the result of a cracked die being used.
“The coin is in circulated condition, as can be seen from the photographs.” One keen bidder snapped up the coin for the £5.00 buy-it-now price plus £1.00 postage on March 22nd.
That means the coin was sold for 100 times its shop value and will be sure to have Brits checking their change for the same error. The 5p coin featuring Matthew Dent’s Royal Shield of Arms design was first introduced into circulation in 2008.
The design appears on UK coins up to the value of 50p. When united, and carefully arranged in the correct order, the 50p, 20p, 10p, 5p, 2p, 1p, make up the Royal Arms in its entirety.
