Brits urged to check their 50p coins as rare version could be worth a huge £2.5k

The 2011 coin, minted in celebration of the London Olympics in 2012, is known as the "aquatics" design and features an image of a swimmer

Brits are being urged to check their loose change for a rare 50p coin that could be worth a staggering £2,500.

The 2011 coin, minted to celebrate the London Olympics in 2012, is the "aquatics" design and features an image of a swimmer donning goggles and a swimming cap.

While millions of these coins were produced, one tiny variation on the coin could make it particularly valuable.

Coin Collector UK, a coin expert who shares his knowledge on TikTok, explained more about this unique design.

"Become rich if you find this coin. This coin is worth £2,500 pounds if you find the rare version in your change," he said.

But you'll need to inspect the coin closely to ensure it has the feature that makes it rare.

Engraved lines representing water must be visible over the swimmer’s face.

Without these lines, the 50p isn’t nearly as valuable.

"The one to be looking out for will have lines covering the face like this," he said, demonstrating the original design before it was updated with the lines removed.

"Only 600 of these were minted before the Royal Mint decided to change the design as it was too hard to make out."

However, even the common version without the lines over the face is "still worth keeping".

"And with a mintage of around two million, it's worth about £2," he added.

However, the valuable coin was included in a souvenir set, making it less likely to actually be in circulation.

"Unfortunately, the one with the lines over the face was not put into circulation so you will need to be lucky to find it and hope someone has broken it out of the packaging and spent it by mistake," Coin Collector said.

"This is unlikely though considering they sell for between £2,000 and £3,000 due to the limited numbers originally minted."

Adding a ray of hope, he said: "Nonetheless, it is always worth checking. I found numerous coins that were not meant to be in circulation, which proves they do pop up every so often.

"So get checking."