One of the coins recently sparked a bidding war on eBay
A 50p coin has sold for more than 200 times its face value after a number of bids came in on eBay. The commemorative coin was minted in 2009, released to celebrate the 250th anniversary of Kew Gardens.
It displays the famous Chinese Pagoda on one face and features a portrait of the late Queen Elizabeth II on the reverse. With only around 210,000 minted by The Royal Mint, it remains highly sought-after by collectors, and experts value the coin at around £145.
This suggests this eBay seller may have lost out marginally, achieving £100.46 for theirs. Bidding started at just 1p for the item, which was listed as “2009 Kew Gardens 50p Circulated UK Coin Genuine Rare Collectible”.
However, after a seven-way bidding war, the sum climbed steadily before the coin eventually changed hands for over £100. The winning bidder must also cover £1.70 for postage and packaging.
Money specialists reckon hundreds of thousands of these Kew Gardens coins remain in circulation, making it potentially worthwhile to examine your pockets, purses, and even beneath cushions. Should you discover a Kew Gardens 50p, however, the first thing you should check is the date on it.
This matters because the Royal Mint released a second run of the coins in 2019 to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the 50p. These later versions typically go for a lower price, though they have been known to achieve around £70 or £80 on eBay.
According to the Royal Mint, these represent the scarcest 50p coins currently in circulation: Atlantic Salmon (2023), 200,000.
- Kew Gardens (2009), 210,000
- Olympic Football (2011), 1,125,500
- Olympic Wrestling (2011), 1,129,500
- Olympic Judo (2011), 1,161,500
- Olympic Triathlon (2011), 1,163,500
- Peter Rabbit (2018), 1,400,000
- Flopsy Bunny (2018), 1,400,000
- Olympic Tennis (2011), 1,454,000
- Olympic Goalball (2011), 1,615,500