DYLAN Collects Coins: How to find rare coins on a budget and sell them for profit

DYLAN knew he had a knack for spotting rare coins when he found a £2 Brunel Portrait, worth £30, when he was just five-years-old.

The 11-year-old, who recently won a prestigious coin-collecting award from ChangeChecker as Junior Collector of the Year, now has 1,000 rare and valuable coins in his collection.

Other coins include the UK's rarest 50p coin the 2023 Atlantic Salmon, which regularly sells for £50 online.

He was given the coin on his birthday and it recently overtook the Kew Gardens 50p coin as the rarest 50p.

Dylan spoke to The Sun about how he finds rare coins on a budget and how to sell them for profit, although he has no plans to sell his entire collection just yet.

The youngster will often go to a bank and exchange money notes for 50p and £2 coins and sift through them to find coins that are rare or he can add to his collection.

He said: "Get coins from the bank because it doesn't really cost any money and if you decide you don't want to collect coins anymore you can just spend the coins."

The school-boy also recommends heading to local thrift stores and second-hand shops.

He also uses eBay to source rare coins - but he rarely sells any in his collection.

His highest sale on a coin to date was £8, when he sold two London 2012 Olympic 'wrestling' coins that he bought for £1 each and sold for £8 each. 

Eager collectors will also know that stumbling across an error coin—a piece that was minted incorrectly—could be your ticket to making a profit on a coin.

Dylan has his own experience with this when he found a "cud metal" 2p in his spare change.

A "cud" is a coinage error that occurs when a piece breaks away from the edge of the die used to strike a coin, resulting in a damaged area that looks like a blob on the coin.

Error coins are seen as more valuable to collections so this can push up their value.

DYLAN'S TIP FOR SPOTTING AN ERROR COIN

An error coin is a coin that was minted with a mistake, such as being struck off-centre, having the wrong planchet, or having a damaged die.

These mistakes mean collectors see them as more valuable and could be willing to pay more for them.

11-year old Dylan recommends knowing what the non-error version of the coin looks like first.

"That way, you should be able to spot something that doesn't look quite right," he shares.

AWARD WINNER

In December, Dylan was crowned Change Checker's Junior Change Checker of the Year, a prestigious award which recognises his efforts to help others discover the joy of collecting.

He was nominated by his mum and alongside a trophy he won a bag of goodies and a subscription to Coin Collector Magazine.

Speaking about his win, Dylan said: "When I found out that I had won, I was really happy."

His love of coins has also inspired him to launch a Youtube channel aptly named Dylan Collects Coins.

He is inspired by Christopher Collects, another avid coin collector and social media star who has over 80,000 followers on social media.

"He [Chrispopher] was my favourite YouTuber, and he still is, so I thought I might start up my own channel."

And if you think Dylan's love for collecting stops at coins, you would be sorely mistaken.

He is also an avid stamp and comic book collector, particularly Beanos.

While he has chosen not to make a killing flogging coins, comic books are a different story.

"I got a Night Rider magazine from a really old year and I bought it and I sold it on eBay for £40," he shares.

But what he chose to spend his money on won't come as a surprise.

"I spend it on coins," he laughs.