Rare coin collector issues urgent warning about 50p design selling for £300,000

It's always important to check your wallets as you never know when there's rare coins 'to make you retire' lurking in your stash. Certain rare coins could be worth a few hundreds more than face value, or even thousands – if you're lucky.

In the past, it's quite common to see a 50p coin sell for more than £1,000, but now one is being listed for an eye-watering £300,000 online, according to an expert. The guru, known as @CoinCollectingWizard to his 36,000 followers on Instagram, recently issued an urgent warning over a design which is not as exciting as many people think.

Speaking in a video, he said: "£300,000 for a Queen Elizabeth 50p coin with necklace, have you heard about this? Omg, have you seen this?

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"A Queen Elizabeth 50p with a necklace, people are going crazy thinking it's rare and worth loads of money, but let me tell you the truth."

According to the coin collector, this specific 50p isn't so special, in fact, it's "one of the most common coins you can find in your change" with a mintage of 456million.

He continued: "This is just a regular 50p coin, the necklace people are talking about is actually part of the design, people are trying to sell these online for crazy prices.

"I get messages daily from people asking about this necklace coin, but don't be fooled, it's just a normal 50p worth 50p. If you really want valuable coins, look for rare ones like the Kew Gardens error 50p coins."

The Queen's necklace coin is a standard UK 50p with the necklace as part of the regular design. Experts suggest it's extremely common and has millions out there in circulation, which means it's only worth 50p.

Most 50p coins, including those from themed series like Beatrix Potter, are worth their face value.

Which 50p coins are worth loads?

If you really want to find a rare 50p coin which holds a mega value, then look at the Atlantic Salmon. The Royal Mint named this coin as the rarest in circulation, with just 200,000 minted.

Meanwhile, the 2009 Kew Gardens 50p is also considered rare as there's just 210,000 of these made.

You can also keep your eyes peeled for other coins with low mintages, like the Olympic 50p coins and special editions with errors.