Rare 50p Brexit coin could be worth £40k - and two have been found down the back of sofas

People are being urged to check their loose change after two rare 50p coins were found, which could be worth up to £40,000 each at auction.

The coins were meant to commemorate the day the UK left the European Union, and were minted with the date January 31 2020.

But two coins somehow slipped through with the incorrect date several months earlier.

The Royal Mint had initially made a million coins with the date October 31 2019, which was the date we were originally due to leave.

After it was delayed, the coins were melted down and none were thought to have survived.

However, two of the coins have now turned up, in a find an auctioneer compared to discovering Willy Wonka’s ‘golden ticket’.

Gregory Edmund, from Spink and Son auction house, is so excited by the discovery that he has set up an email hotline for anyone else who thinks they’ve found one.

He says he expects the coins to be worth at least £40,000 at auction, so is naturally keen to see if any others are clinking around.

Mr Edmund told The Telegraph: ‘Given the extremely stringent security at the Royal Mint, to suddenly have two examples survive, and be available for study at the same time, is a unique opportunity.

‘This truly feels like my Charlie Bucket moment discovering the numismatic Golden Ticket.’

The coins are so sought after that he thinks their sale would break his auction house’s record for the sale price of a circulating coin, which was £42,000 last year for a 1965 gold halfpenny which had an error.

The two which showed up were found by ‘lucky coin hunters’ in their loose change, he said.

They have not been confirmed as legitimate by the Royal Mint.

But if you think you’ve spotted one, you can email brexit50p@spink.com and potentially buy yourself much more than a Freddo bar.