CHECK down sofas and in pockets and purses as you could be sitting on a small coin fortune.
If you’re looking for some easy cash keep an eye out for the rarest and most valuable in circulation. We list how much you could earn with your rare 10p coins.
Change Checker tracks which rare coins and valuable notes are worth the most.
As far as 10p coins go, the rarest and most valuable are still the A to Z collection which was minted in 2018 and re-released in 2019.
Each letter of the alphabet was represented with an easy-to-guess illustrated design, celebrating best of British themes including fish and chips, cricket and tea.
There were 220,000 of each of the 26 coins released into circulation in 2018.
Just 84,000 were minted in 2019.
RARE COINS AND VALUABLE NOTES
The latest info we have is from November, where the Zebra 10p took the top spot, up two places from August.
Just 283,000 of these 10p coins were issued between 2018 and 2019, making it one of the rarest 10p coins out there.
The World Wide Web follows behind and only 283,000 coins were minted in the same period.
The low mintage figures for the 2019 versions mean that there are fewer out there than even the rarest coin of all, the Kew Gardens 50p.
The collection is highly sought-after by coin hunters, with collectors desperate to get hold of all 26 coins and complete the alphabet.
We’ve rounded up six of the rarest 10p coins and checked how much they’re selling for so you can find out what you might fetch.
Rare and valuable coins – is yours worth a mint?
Five rarest coins – do you have one?
The 13 most valuable £2 coinsin circulation
How valuable are the rarest £1 coins?
Most rare and valuable 50p coins in circulation
Rare and most valuable 20p coins that could be worth up to £750
Rarest 10p coins in circulation
Rare 2p coins revealed
How to check if you have a rare and valuable banknote
Some which are Brilliant Uncirculated are in mint condition and often sell for more than their circulated counterparts.
However, it’s worth remembering that a coin is really only worth what someone is willing to pay for it.
Z for Zebra Crossing 10p – £19.99
Z is for the unmistakable Zebra Crossing
Royal Mint released this coin to celebrate James Callaghan’s iconic black and white pedestrian crossing.
They have also become iconic in British culture since featuring on the iconic cover of Beatles album Abbey Road.
On eBay, the highest recent price for a sale of a 2018 Z for Zebra 10p is £19.99 – though you may be able to sell it for more.
There are 283,000 of these in circulation in total.
W for World Wide Web 10p – £26
Paying tribute to the internet, W is for World Wide Web
Celebrating Brit Tim Berners-Lee’s invention of the internet, this W for World Wide Web 10p features a spiderweb design.
Though it’s not quite clear how the design actually relates to the internet, we’ve seen these coins going for £26 – though prices dropped considerably after this one.
There have been 283,000 of these coins minted over the past four years.
Y for Yeoman Warder 10p – £17.50
Y stands for Yeoman Warder in the A to Z collection
This coin features a yeoman warder on the tails side to celebrate the ceremonial guardians of the Tower of London who protect the British Crown Jewels.
Although it is third highest on the Change Checker scarcity list, it’s the second most lucrative coin on eBay so far this year.
The highest recent selling price we could find on eBay for a 2019 Y for Yeoman 10p coin was £29.99.
There are 283,000 of these coins in circulation in total, like the Z for Zebra 10p coin.
R for Robin 10p – £10.99
R stands for the adorable red-breasted Robin
Down two places on the scarcity index from August, the R for Robin coin still sells for more than the other 10p pieces on the market.
R for Robin features a wintery, snowflake background with a robin sitting inside the letter R.
That gives it extra appeal around Christmas time.
We spotted one for £10.99 on eBay.
Still, there are more of these in circulation than Y for Yeoman Warder and Z for Zebra Crossing coins, with 284,000 in total.
T is for Tea 10p – £5.99
It’s the nation’s favourite drink – T is for Tea
This 10p features a boiled traditional tea pot next to the letter ‘T’.
It was created due to our nation’s undeniable love for the drink.
In 2018 220,000 were issued for circulation and 84,000 in 2019.
Despite going up 19 places to fifth place this November, the coins won’t fetch you much online.
We found one that sold for £5.99 on eBay on November 30.
J is for Jubilee 10p – £4.50
Royal Mint
Another coin that has come up the scarcity index is the Jubilee 10p which is now in sixth place.
The coin was designed by Jody Clark in honour of the country’s love of a Jubilee celebration.
Whether its a party in the street or watching the event on the telly, Brits know how to make the occasion.
The 10p was minted in 2018 with 220,000 being issued, a further 84,000 were issued in 2019.
The highest price we found one sold for was on December 28 for £4.50 – though do keep looking.
What makes a coin more valuable?
Mintage figures affect a coins value. The lower the mintage, the more rare and valuable the coin is.
However, Change Checker looks at how many collectors have acquired the coin, showing how easy it is to find.
Experts also track how many times the design has been requested as a swap during the previous three months, showing them collector demand.
While the index doesn’t necessarily correspond to value, it is an effective indicator.
What do I do if I have a rare coin and how do I find out how much it’s worth?
One in every four old £1 are thought to be fake according to The Royal Mint, meaning there could be a fake in your spare change.
The Royal Mint can’t value the coin but can confirm that it’s genuine. They’ll supply you with a letter to confirm this.
Once you know if it’s real you’ll be able to sell it through a coin dealer, a specialist such as Change Checker, auction or eBay.
You can look at eBay’s recent sold prices to get an indicator of how much your coin usually goes for on the site.
Search the full name of the coin, select the “sold” listing and then toggle the search to “highest value”.
You’ll then have an idea of the amount of money that the coin is being sold for.
We’ve updated our list of the rarest and most valuable 50p pieces in circulation, including Olympics coins worth more than £200.
Keep up to date with all the rare coins and valuable notes news from The Sun.