- A
rare coin found in a man's change is estimated to be worth nearly $1,000 at auction. - The coin looks a lot like an ordinary UK 20p piece, which would be worth about 35 cents.
The ultra-rare
"There have been a couple of other examples that have gone to auction or sold in the past, but we are talking about a handful,"
"It's very, very rare," she added.
That's because in standard UK money, there's no such thing as a 25p coin.
According to the auction catalog, the coin is one of a handful of trial coins struck in 1981 "as part of an experiment" while the
In the end, they decided against 25p and settled on what is today's common 20p piece, using a very similar design.
It's why the coin is unlikely to have stood out as anything remarkable to most people.
The coin's seller — identified only as a man from Shropshire, in central England — is "lucky" to have an "eagle eye" for detail, Day told BI.
"I bet plenty of people have had these in their change in their wallet and they've probably just passed it on again," she said.
Day added that the seller remembers getting it in his
He put it aside "knowing it was something interesting," and pulled it out to be examined a few years later when a similar coin made the news, she said.
The coin is so unusual that there is barely any reference to it online, Day added.
But it's had huge interest from
The frenzy could lead to more people identifying the few others that are out there, Day suggested, adding: "I imagine we'll probably see a few more now."
September 25, 2024 — An earlier version of this story misspelled Kimberly Day's first name.