Rare 25p coin hidden for several years expected to sell for £700 at auction

It is expected to sell for a huge sum at auction (Picture: RWB Auctions)

Look in your wallets and purses right now because a rare 25p coin could be in there potentially worth hundreds of pounds.

One of these rare 25p coins has already been found and is set to be sold at auction for around £700.

It is often mistaken for a 20p coin just because it looks so similar and it is thought there are only 50 left still in existence.

This makes this unusual 25p coin more valuable than the rare Kew Gardens 50p pieces because there are 210,000 of these in existence.

The coin was found in a pile of change several years ago by the owner who kept it in a jewellery box.

But there are some distinct differences like the 25p coin has a shield on one side and the sovereign’s orb on the other.

It was made by the Royal Mint but at the time experts had no idea whether the new coin would be worth 20p or 25p.

So this type of coin instead is called a ‘trial piece’ or a ‘pattern coin’.

You could have one of these in your wallet or purse (Picture: Kimberly Day)

To differentiate these coins the words ‘experimental coin’ and ‘Royal Mint trial’ are printed onto them.

The 25p coin will be sold at auction online on September 25 at RWB Auctions in Royal Wootton Bassett, Wiltshire.

A coin expert at RWB Auctions, said: ‘This is a fascinating piece not just for the rarity but as a glimpse of what our currency could have been.

’20p coins are a fixture in our change now, but the Royal Mint seems to have experimented with various ideas before they settled on the seven-sided coin we all recognise.’

It will be sold as part of a specialist sale of historic and modern currency.

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