Brits urged to check their change as they could be sitting on a fortune

2024 was a year when thousands of sellers profited from the spare change they found and decided to list on the selling site eBay.

Thousands of people made a fortune in 2023 by selling spare change they found at home on eBay.

In some cases, coin collectors started bidding wars over a selection of Royal Mint coins that have an incredibly low mintage.

The 50 pence piece has become the most valued and collected coin in the UK with many collectable designs appearing on the heptagonal canvas.

Its 27.5mm diameter makes it the largest of any British coin, and allows space for decorative pictures. It has often been used to celebrate big events over the past 50 years of British history.

The rarest coins tend to be of the greatest value, with the mintage (number of coins with each design made) being the fundamental attraction for collectors.

Along with the design, other aspects of the coin which increase value are the condition of the coin and whether it has an error in its design.

The way in which it is sold can also determine the coin’s value - while some coin collectors will bid vast amounts of money on eBay or at auction, others opt for more robust valuations by selling via a coin dealer.

One of the year's most profitable sellers sold the “extra-special” rare commemorative 2012 Olympic 50p coin for 8,000 times its face value.

The coin, which marked the London games with an image of a swimmer on the tail side, was sold for a staggering £4,000.

Another super rare 50p coin, which led to a huge profit for sellers, was the 2009 Kew Gardens 50p coin.

This ultra rare coin, released in 2009 to mark 250 years since the opening of Kew Gardens in 1759, sold multiple times for a huge profit, including one time when it sold for £158 on eBay.

The King Charles III Atlantic Salmon 50p is another rarity which sold for £111 after sparking a mini bid war this year.