So I thought my 50p coin was worth £800…

One of the most regular questions we get at Change Checker is: “I have a Benjamin Britten 50p – how much is it worth?“.

There’s no doubt that the Benjamin Britten 50p was somewhat overlooked when it was first released and it is amongst the slightly more scarce coins in circulation.

2013 Benjamin Britten 50p

In his busy life, Britten compiled an impressive and diverse body of work. Since his death in 1976, Britten’s reputation as one of the greatest musicians of the age has continued to grow.

This 50p was issued to commemorate the centenary of his birth in 1913, and features celebratory words from Tennyson set against a double stave – referencing the piano on which Britten was a virtuoso.

If you want a good brilliant uncirculated version of it for your collection, you might expect to pay up to £10 – maybe even a little more.  If you want a normal circulation quality coin – I would hold on.  It will eventually turn up in your change for 50p.

Why?

Well the answer is that they have just seen the exact same coin listed on eBay for over £800.

ebay

How can this be so?

Sadly, the answer is that eBay is not always a fair indicator of value.  Anyone can list anything.  So if you have a slightly unusual coin – like the Benjamin Britten 50p – list it on eBay for an outrageous price.  Once in a while a naive customer will pay the price – however…

The seller’s profit – £799.50.

It’s not just Benjamin Britten – there are others… including the 2006 Brunel £2, 2005 Gunpowder Plot £2 and the 2014 Trinity House £2 coins.

We would always suggest caution and user discretion when buying and selling on eBay. To get a more realistic idea of what your coin could potentially sell for, view the ‘sold listings’ on eBay to see the actual prices buyers have been willing to pay, although again there is still no guarantee that these sales have all actually gone through.

So to help you get the most out of your money, we’ve created 5 eBay buying tips:

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4 Comments

  1. Vikas on February 18, 2016 at 12:03 am

    Hi ii I have one £2 coin without date just I wanna …. Price for that coin



  2. autographsale on February 17, 2016 at 9:10 am

    Would love to get £800 for 50p. God loves a trier.



  3. hayman on February 16, 2016 at 5:32 pm

    I have 6 of these in my swaps. Perhaps I should sell them instead of swapping.



  4. Adrian Whitington on February 16, 2016 at 5:21 pm

    The 1992/93 EU Presidency 50p was not released for circulation.