Rare 2p coin minted with wording error in 1983 sells for £700

The super rare coin caught the interest of collectors from across the world due to its unusual wording, which added to its incredible value.

A rare 2p coin, minted with a wording error in 1983, has sold for £700 at RWB Auctions last week.

The coin, which is supposed to read “two pence”, instead reads “new pence”, due to an error made by the Royal Mint. The error was likely caused by an old die being used to strike the coin. Very few of the coins are still in existence today.

The coin sold for 350 times its original market value.

Coin collectors are being urged to check their old coin collections for the rare set, especially if they were born in 1983.

“Someone may have bought you one as a baby or as a Christening present,” Jon White, of RWB Auctions, said. “If they happened to have got hold of a rare one, then you have a very valuable gift on their hands.”

The affected coins can be found in sets produced in collaboration between The Royal Mint and Italian drinks company Martini & Rossi. It was part of a promotional giveaway labelled The Great British 1983 Coin Collection.

Although thousands of the sets were released, only a small number feature the rare 2p coin.

Last month, an expert urged Brits to check their wallets and coin jars for a rare misprinted coin which could be worth as much as £1,000.

The £2 coin is estimated to sell for between £800 to £1,000 to collectors, according to the Coin Collector UK.

People will need to check to see if they have a 2014 print featuring Lord Kitchener, famous from First World War recruitment posters. The Royal Mint produced 5,720,000 copies of these £2 coins, to mark 100 years since the outbreak of the First World War.

However, to be worth a lot of money the coin needs to feature a specific misprint - or a “mule error”.