One of your old 1p coins could be worth £600 - but there's a catch

by · Mail Online

Brits have been advised to check their penny jars after an old penny from the reign of Queen Victoria was found to be worth thousands more than its original value. 

The 1893 penny might appear to have nothing unusual about it at first glance, but some people in possession of the coin could sell it for a huge price thanks to a quirk on the coin itself. 

Taking to TikTok to address their followers, which now number more than 210,000, @coincollecting wizard said that this penny coin could fetch as much as £600. 

They said: 'You need to check this one for a very strange error that makes the coin valuable, known as the 1893 'over-two penny'. 

'What you need to pay attention to is the number three as you can see that it looks like [an error was made when printing the coin] so it appears with the start of the number two'. 

Brits have been advised to check their penny jars after an old penny from the reign of Queen Victoria was found to be worth thousands more than its original value
Taking to TikTok to address their followers, which now number more than 210,000, @coincollecting wizard said that this penny coin could fetch as much as £600.

'The best way to notice this is where the number three joins up in the middle. If it doesn't look like this then you have found [the right coin that could net you hundreds of pounds]'. 

'It is such a difficult error to spot but it is well worth your time as uncirculated versions of this coin have sold for £600'. 

It comes after the same coin expert examined a coin which is set to be sold under auction by Sovereign Rarities on November 19. 

Holding the coin in his hands, the expert first shows the reverse, which features a beaded border and the figure of Britannia - the female personification of Great Britain.

Britannia is seated facing right, wearing a crested Corinthian helmet and a flowing dress.

She rests her right hand on a shield bearing the combined heraldic crosses of the Union Flag, and a trident in her left, while in the background are sea waves and a lighthouse.

Britannia sits within the words 'One Penny' and the date, 1954, appears at the bottom.

Turning the coin over, the expert shows the young laureate bust of Queen Elizabeth II facing right.

A laurel wreath in the Queen's hair is tied with a ribbon and two ends flowing behind.

An extremely rare 1954 penny has achieved an estimated value of £90,000 - and could fetch in excess of £100,000 when it goes under the hammer this month

Around the edges of the coin are the Latin words for 'Elizabeth the Second, by the Grace of God, Queen, Defender of the Faith.'

User @CoinCollectingWizard says: 'And this just happens to be a 1954 penny, the rarest penny the rarest penny ever known, even rarer than the 1933 penny.

'As you may know the 1933 penny recently sold at auction for over £100,000.

'And now that a 1954 has appeared at an online auction, we know have an estimate for this coin between £90,000 and £100,000.'

According to vintage coin experts, Online Coin Club, the 1954 penny is thought to have the 'highest rarity possible', adding it is 'one of the mysteries of British numismatics.'

Before it was minted, there were already a large number of pennies in circulation and an economic slowdown after the Second World War meant there was no demand for any more.

But when George VI died in 1952 at the age of 56, new coronation coins were designed to mark the ascension of Elizabeth II.