Yahoo Finance Rare Aussie coin could fetch $15k
Aussies are being urged to check their pockets for a rare 50c coin that could be worth almost $15,000.
The Australian 50c coin minted in 1988 contains a significant error by the Royal Australian Mint.
During 1988, it was decided 50c coins would commemorate the 200th anniversary of the arrival of the First Fleet, with the standard coat of arms being shelved.
However, some coins slipped through the cracks, with the standard coat of arms printed on the coin as well as the 1988 date on its back.
The rare coin, known as a mule, is worth almost $14,750, with Downies Collectables claiming there is only two of its kind.
“A mouth-watering opportunity to secure truly great decimal rarities … one of the two known 1988 50c coat of arms proofs,” the Downies Collectables website reads.
“As is customary, the creation of a special one-year-only 50c commemorative meant the standard Coat of Arms 50c was not struck for circulation and was naturally not included in the proof or mint sets of that year either.”
Therefore, no 1988 coins with a coat of arms should exist.
However, the “genuine mule error” was created with the accidental union of mismatched obverse and reverse sides.
Downies described it as a “rarity of the highest order”, with whoever comes across it taking their coin collection to “unparalleled heights”.
Aussies are also being told to check their loose change for a $1 coin that could be worth up to $3000.
Perth-based coin expert and numismatist Joel Kandiah urged his 129,000 TikTok followers to keep an eye out for the $1 coin minted in 2000 with an error that could fetch the owner anywhere between $300 to $3000 in online markets, contingent upon the coin’s condition.
He explained that in 2003, coin collectors became aware of a significant error, where coins were mistakenly produced using the incorrect obverse die (the head side).
The rare 2000 coins were printed with the Australian 10c obverse die.
