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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
Business
Steven White

Rare 50p that is harder to find than Kew Gardens coin could be worth £60

A coin from the 1990s that is considered a lot tougher to find than the popular Kew Gardens 50p coin could be worth more than a hundred times its original value.

The EC 50p coin was put into circulation in the UK by the Royal Mint between 1992 and 1993.

The now-30-year-old coins were minted to celebrate the Presidency of the Council of European Community Ministers (a forerunner to the European Union ) and the completion of the Single Market.

The coin's design features a birds-eye view of a conference table linked with lines and 12 stars.

Twelve chairs are also placed around the furniture - one for each minister.

The design of the EC 50p coin (pictured) features a table with 12 chairs and 12 stars on its design (changechecker.org)

Only 109,000 of these type of 50ps were ever minted.

By comparison there were 210,000 Kew Gardens 50p coins made, meaning the EC 50p is almost twice as rare and harder to find.

The EC 50p was stamped on an older, bigger 50p design that was removed from circulation in 1997 and replaced by a smaller version.

Although it is rare, some coin experts believe that it is not impossible for people to find one languishing at the bottom of a piggy bank or a wallet.

Only 109,000 of the rare EC 50p coins were ever minted thirty years ago when 50ps were bigger than today's versions (james-green/Getty Images/iStockphoto)

Coin collectors at Change Checker said the EC 50p may be worth up to £60, reports the Daily Star, which works at a 120 times more than its face value.

However, despite Kew Garden 50ps being easier to find in theory, their value is worth much more than EC 50p coins.

Earlier this year the Mirror reported that the Kew Garden coin sold on eBay for £215 - 430 times its original value.

Kew Garden 50p coins are less rare than their EC counterparts but are worth more among collectors (Giambra/Getty Images/iStockphoto)

The valuable piece featured the famous Chinese Pagoda from the gardens being intertwined by a leafy climber and attracted 31 competing bids over a seven-day auction.

The coin was minted in 2009 to celebrate 250 years of Kew Gardens.

But anyone lucky enough to find one should check the date as the Royal Mail reissued them in 2019, which typically fetch only around £70 to £80 on the likes of eBay.

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