A coin collector who noticed a tiny error with a 50p coin is now selling it for more than £25,000

The Royal Mint produced one-off Peter Rabbit coins to commemorate 150 years after the much-loved author Beatrix Potter was born.

A coin collector has spotted a tiny error with a 50p coin and is now selling it for more than £25,000 on eBay.

The Royal Mint produced one-off Peter Rabbit coins to commemorate 150 years after the much-loved author Beatrix Potter was born. These were put into circulation over the 2016 Easter weekend and also marked the first time a fictional character appeared on a British coin.

Due to their popularity, the following year the Royal Mint released four additional Beatrix Potter themed coins with nearly 20,000,000 being put into circulation. This included the ‘The Tale of Peter Rabbit’ coin, which was the first of Miss Potter’s tales and the mischievous character is captured in the centre.

With so many being put into circulation, the coins, designed by Royal Mint engraver Emma Noble, are not usually considered rare and normally worth several pounds at most. However, one observant coin collector has noticed that their coin has a slight defect which has caused the dramatic rise in price.

The coin has a ‘lump of metal’ at the bottom of Peter Rabbit’s foot that the coin collector, who lives in Dereham, says is completely unique.

‘This 50p coin has a small anomaly at the base of the foot of the main character in the centre of the coin, which I believe is an error, can't find anything similar online,’ the listing on the online marketplace reads.

As coins with imperfections have sold for drastically more than face value in the past, the coin collector has decided to list the coin with an initial asking price of £25,086.72. There is also a £8.96 postage fee and returns are not accepted.

The ‘Tale of Peter Rabbit’ was the first in a series of 23 little tales by Miss Potter. The 2017 coin featured Peter hopping away, while the 2016 version showed him holding onto the lapels of his trademark blue jacket.

The first round of Peter Rabbit coins were first trickled into circulation in the Lake District where the legendary author, who was born in Kensington, West London, used to go on holiday as a child. Among other places in the area, Miss Potter would spend summers with her family at Lingholm estate near Keswick, Cumbria. The grounds and garden of the Grade-II listed manor house is where the young author first imagined the adventures of Peter Rabbit and his friends.