New £2 coin created this week is already selling for £250 - here's how to spot it

An expert has urged people to be on the lookout for an extremely rare British coin created this week that is already selling for £250.

A new British coin designed to commemorate author George Orwell has been created with an error that is making it sell for hundreds of pounds.

The £2 coin features an eye on the reverse with the message “Big Brother is watching you” in reference to his novel 1984. However, on Monday, January 20, a number of these coins were minted with a noticeable mistake.

The inscription along the edge of the coin was incorrect. This occurred as part of a Royal Mint Experience tour in which people are invited to strike their own coin.

Speaking on social media platform TikTok, an expert known as the Coin Collector UK, explained more.

He said: “£250 for newly discovered error coin. Yesterday approximately 60 error £2 coins were produced at the Royal Mint with the incorrect edge inscription.

“Collectors who visited the Royal Mint Experience yesterday for their strike your owns were quick to notice an error on their new £2.”

This happened because the tour had just changed its coin design from the flora £2 to the Orwell one. As a result some of the Orwell coins were struck with the flora inscription around the edge.

He continued: “Every £2 coin has different edge lettering relating to the design. And the old flora blanks were still being used from the previous day.

“This meant that the George Orwell was stamped on £2 coins with the incorrect edge inscription reading ‘in servitio omnium’ instead of ‘there was truth and there was untruth’.”

Already people have been selling the coins online with some going for £200, while others are listed for £500.

He added: “Recent sold listings are £250 and some are listed for up to £500 due to the rarity of this error coin.”

The Royal Mint is currently selling £2 Orwell coins, without the error, for £17.50. On its site it describes the piece: “Celebrate the life and legacy of George Orwell with a coin that portrays key themes of Orwell’s writings on the reverse.

“Artist Henry Gray has cleverly inserted what looks like an eye, but is in fact a camera lens, into the centre of the reverse design. The reverse features the inscription ‘BIG BROTHER IS WATCHING YOU’, a quote taken from 1984, which encircles the camera lens.

“‘THERE WAS TRUTH AND THERE WAS UNTRUTH’, another quote from 1984, serves as the coin’s edge inscription.”

News of the error has been shared by The Britannia Coin Collection, which claims around 40 coins were affected.

It says: “The error appears to have been swiftly corrected but is reported to affect around 40 coins.

“The Royal Mint has reportedly offered recipients of the error a replacement with the correct edge.”

People on the tour paid £7.50 for the experience of striking their own coins. At the time of reporting three of these error coins were listed on eBay.

Two are priced at £450, while another is priced at £500.