Rare 'fried egg' error £2 coin sells for £600 – do you have a valuable one in your pocket? | The Sun

YOU could be sat on a fortune if you happen to own a rare "fried egg"£2 coin as collectors scramble to buy the £600 rarity.

A design error on some of the Royal Mint's Mayflower 2020 coins has left them looking like a runny fried egg as the middle has "spilt" out onto the outer rim.

The design depicts the famous English ship known as the Mayflower that transported a group of English families, known today as the Pilgrims, from England to the New World in 1620.

Some 400 years later, the special coin was made to commemorate the determination and courage shown by the passengers and crew, according to the Royal Mint website.

The edge inscription includes a quote from the Mayflower Compact: "Undertaken for the glory of God".

But some possess the strange "fried egg" quirk as a result of a manufacturing errors.

Read more in Money

PAY OUT

Water company giving out one-off £50 payment to 300,000 households in the UK

CASH HELP

Thousands of households to get £100 free cash – key date to make a claim

As a result, collectors are willing to pay hundreds of pounds for the coin – influenced by the fact it is no longer in circulation.

And that's exactly what happened for one lucky owner, who recently sold theirs for £600 on eBay.

A total of 33 bids were made for the rare piece of loose change, before it was sold to the winner last month.

That saw the rare coin sold for over 300 times its face value of £2.

Most read in Money

STORE DEAL

Chain with 100 locations to take over former Wilko stores – it’s not Poundland

CASH HELP

Thousands of households to get £100 free cash – key date to make a claim

SAY WATT

Energy bill warning for 7million as huge switch-off to cripple smart meters

WINTER HELPER

I never use my dryer thanks to 50p Tesco essential which sucks up moisture

Two pound coins like this one have two metal rings – one on the outside made of a yellow nickel-brass ring and the one inside is made of a steel coloured nickel plated brass.

But this error coin has been mis-struck somewhere in the minting process, meaning the middle ring is not perfectly lined in the centre.

Last year, another £2 coin with the "fried egg" error but with a different design also sold for well above its face value on eBay.

It's known to collectors as the Charles Dickens £2 and was issued in 2012 to mark the 200th anniversary of the author's birth.

A coin expert also revealed the exact date you should look out for on a rare £2 coin that's worth £200.

Known as the 2003 Falkland Islands £2 coin, it has grown in value and is not highly sought after by collectors – so keep an eye out.

Source: Read Full Article