Britons are being urged to check their change for a rare £1 coin that could be worth up to £2,500. The coin, a 2016 12-sided £1 piece, features a tiny '2017' micro-engraving on the reverse side, making it a valuable dual-dated error.
The Royal Mint produced over 500 million of the new 12-sided coins in 2016, ahead of their official introduction in March 2017. The error coin has a 2016 date on the heads side and a minuscule '2017' on the tails side, which is extremely hard to spot without magnification.
Coin expert 'Coin Collecting Wizard' on TikTok advised: 'You're looking for a 2016 obverse dated coin with 2017 micro-engraving on the reverse. The micro-engraving is so small, you may need a microscope.' He noted that at least one example sold for £2,500 to a buyer in Spain in 2017.
Change Checker, a coin valuation service, confirmed the sale but suggested a more realistic value of £300 to £500 for a coin in excellent condition. They added: 'The error is particularly difficult to spot due to the size of the micro-engraving.'
At the time of reporting, one such coin was listed on eBay for £1,500. Collectors advise checking all 2016 £1 coins carefully, as the error is easy to miss.
