The rarest and most valuable 10p, 50p and £2 coins in circulation, including one valued at £250 - full list

A list of the rarest and most valuable coins in circulation has been revealed by Change Checker. Including one specific coin that has jumped 23 spots since its release in October.

One 50p piece in particular is even priced at £250, which is an astonishing 500 times its original value. Findings that will have people crawling through their change to see if they are lucky enough to own any of the rare coins.

The list comes following the latest Scarcity Index report that was published in November. It was compiled by website Change Checker, which helps find, identify, collect, and swap circulating coins.

It has been broken down into three different categories. The rarest 50p pieces, as well as 10p and £2 coins currently in circulation.

According to Change Checker, these are the UK’s rarest and most-sought after coins that are currently in circulation. Data comes from September to November of 2022.

The rarest 50p coins

The rarest 50p piece currently in circulation throughout the United Kingdom is the special Kew Gardens version. It features the famous Chinese Pagoda to mark the 250th anniversary of when the botanical garden was opened in 1759.

Coinhunter has revealed that the rare coinage has an average eBay listing price of £156. Though there are many cases of it selling for up to £250.

Coming in at a close second-place is the Judo Olympics 50p piece, which was created to celebrate the London Olympic Games in 2012. It has been considered one of the rarest coins in the UK as only 1,161,500 were minted.

Coinhunter states that the Judo-inspired coin is worth an estimated £10 if it is in a good condition. While some eBay listings have priced it as high as £18.

The 50p coin that climbed a total of 23 spots on the list of the rarest coins is the Pride 50 Anniversary version. Five million entered circulation on October 25 and features five rainbows which were designed by LGBTQ+ activist Dominique Holmes. Coinhunter states that the coin is worth an estimated £4.50 per piece.

Change Checker is expecting the upcoming release of King Charles III’s new 50p piece, as well as the memorial design to honour Queen Elizabeth II, to totally shake-up the list. They are expected to release sometime in December.

The rarest 10p coins

Change Checker’s list of the rarest 10p pieces have been made up from the Royal Mint’s A-Z collection that was released in 2018 and 2019 to celebrate Britain. It consists of 26 coins to correspond to the 26 letters of the alphabet.

Right at the summit of the list and therefore named the rarest and most valuable 10p piece in circulation in the UK is the Z coin. The design represents a zebra crossing, which became an iconic symbol of British pop culture following The Beatles’ iconic Abbey Road album cover. Only 222,000 were minted in 2018 as well as an additional 63,000 in 2019. Coinhunter value the coin at £11.50.

In second is the W version of a 10p piece that has been designed to reflect the World Wide Web. 283,000 were entered into circulation and they have been sold for as much as £5.

The coin that has climbed the furthest up the index is the T variant of the 10p coin of the A-Z collection. Its design represents British tea with the use of a traditional tea pot and only 220,000 have been minted which has seen a coin priced at around £3.

The rarest £2 coins

Change Checker has noted that the rarest £2 coins in circulation were all created to mark the Commonwealth Games 2002 collection. The sporting event was hosted in Manchester, which was won by Australia.

The most sought-after is the Northern Ireland version, of which there are only 485,500 in circulation. It has sold for way more than £50 on eBay previously.

While the England and Scotland editions are the second and third most rare and valuable £2 coins in the UK respectively. With 650,500 and 771,750 minted respectively, their value sits between £17 and £20.

Change Checker gives an honourable mention to the special William Shakespeare £2 coin, which is called ‘The Shakespeare Tragedies’ and is has been listed from £3.99 to £14.99. Made to honour his literary work and to commemorate the 400th anniversary of his death, it has climbed the index by seven places.