An expert has advised people to turn over their 2p coins in pursuit of a valuable phrase. Finding such coins could see them fetch over a staggering £1,000.
These particular coins are highly desirable due to an error by the Royal Mint in their production. Minted in 1983, they incorrectly feature the words “new pence” instead of “two pence”.
Originally, all 2p coins minted from 1971 to 1981 had “new pence” inscribed on them. This inscription was changed to “two pence” in 1982, yet a batch mistakenly retained the old term.
An expert known as the Coin Collecting Wizard shared his insights on TikTok, and said: “This is the one you want.” He said that if you stumble upon this coin within your loose change, it’s best not to spend it.
“If you ever come across a 2p coin from 1983 with ‘new pence’ on it instead of ‘two pence’, don’t spend it – you could be holding a rare minting error worth thousands of pounds,” he said. “In 1983, the Royal Mint officially changed the wording from ‘new pence’ to ‘two pence’ – but a few coins slipped through the net with the old wording.”
Labelled as a significant find for collectors, he added: “These weren’t meant for circulation, so finding on is a serious collector’s win.” Moreover, to prevent any accidental losses, he suggested an actionable step.
The expert then offered a final top tip: “Top tip: Flip your 1983 2p coins and check the wording. If it says ‘new pence’ – you’ve struck treasure!”. Experts from Change Checker, speaking on TikTok, have valued these coins at a potential £1,000.
They explained: “In 1982 the design of the 2p coin changed from saying ‘new pence’ to ‘two pence’. However, some coins struck in 1983 used the old reverse die and therefore have the old inscription of ‘new pence’. So you should check your new pence 2p coins for the date 1983 as it could fetch you up to £1,000.”
The Royal Mint’s website says: “In 1983 a small number of 2p coins were mistakenly struck with the wording ‘new pence’ on the reverse. These coins were produced to brilliant uncirculated quality – a standard higher than ordinary circulating coins – and were included in special sets intended for collectors.
“Given that there are relatively few coins with the date 1983 and the inscription ‘new pence’ in circulation, they may well be worth more than their face value to a collector. However, The Royal Mint cannot provide valuations for individual coins and advises consulting a coin dealer for such enquiries.”
At the time this article was written, one such coin was up for sale on eBay with an asking price of £2,499.95.