This Rare 2p Coin Could Be Lurking in Your Change and It's Worth a Small Fortune - Here's What to Look For

Coins that are worth a lot to collectors often fall into a few categories

People across the UK are being urged to check their spare change after a coin expert revealed that a rare 2p coin could be lurking in someone's old purse or jar of change at home - and it might just be worth up to £500.

Whether you're interested in coin collecting, or simply just looking for a way to make some extra cash after the expenses of the Christmas season have hit your wallet hard, it's always worth checking out any coins you have in your home to see if one of them might be worth more than its face value.

Coins that are worth a lot to collectors often fall into a few categories. Firstly, those that were only minted in a limited number are often worth more to collectors, simply because they are rare.

Any coin that has a special design or was made to commemorate a major event can also mean that it's extra valuable, and finally, any coins minted by mistake, or with errors on them can be of serious interest to collectors.

This particular two-pence coin falls into the final category, and a content creator specialising in coin collecting made a video revealing that it could be worth up to £500, so make sure to check out your pot of change as soon as possible to see if you are one of the lucky ones with this coin.

The content creator, Michael - @coincollecting_detecting - boasts over half a million followers, with coin-collecting enthusiasts getting treated to insight into some of the rarest and most valuable coins out there.

This particular coin is an incredibly rare two-pence piece hailing from 1983, and there is a major error in the design, which means that it's worth 25,000 times its face value.

Michael explains you could get "potentially up to £500 for this two pence coin.

"So the reason is it's a 1983 coin, and this is supposed to say two pence on here," demonstrating the 'tails' side of the coin, "so up until 1982, they all said new pence, and they were switching over in 1983 to say 'two pence' but the Royal Mint, a little mistake in the Royal Mint, and we like mistakes as coin collectors in the minting process because that means more value."

The coin expert adds that there isn't a certain number of how many of these two pence pieces got into circulation.

"So they don't know how many of these got out, but not many and potentially up to £500 so definitely keep an eye out for these if you're in the UK and anywhere else in the world where you've got access to these coins because this coin is worth a lot more than just two pence."

In the comments, the expert clarified that more recently some of these special coins minted in error had actually sold for up to £1000 - the condition of the coin can play a big part in how much a collector is willing to pay.

So keep a keen eye on any coppers that come your way in case you find one of these 1983 coins.