Yahoo Finance Royal Australian Mint responds after rare $2 coins 'worth $3,000' handed to Woolworths shoppers
The Mint would have to see them in person to determine whether they are legitimate.
The Royal Australian Mint has responded after special-edition coins released for the Paris Olympic and Paralympic Games had unique errors on them. These errors are rare and can make coins worth far more than face value.
The limited edition coins were handed out to Australians who paid in cash in Woolworths supermarkets across the country. As more collectors sought to have the error coins valued, Yahoo Finance asked the Mint if they were aware of how widespread the production issues could be.
"Without being able to inspect the coins firsthand it is impossible to confirm," the mint spokesperson said.
Some coins had letters missing, others had a potentially valuable "bullseye" error, which is when the coloured motif is printed on the wrong side. In this case, it was printed on King Charles' effigy.
RELATED
Woolworths responds to $2 Olympic coin outrage as prices jump: ‘Unacceptable’
RBA interest rates: Major banks’ prediction ahead of Tuesday decision
Young woman ignored and outbid in home buying struggle: 'Not seeing anyone my age'
What are the errors on the Woolworths Olympics $2 coin?
The coins were released through Woolworths supermarkets ahead of the Paris Olympics, with some limited edition albums also available from the Mint and Australia Post.
During the release period, there was a new coin added into circulation every fortnight. There were three Olympic designs and one for the Paralympics.
There was a motif printed on the tail side that included the classic Aussie colours of green and gold. But the potential production error has seen it printed on the head side.
The Royal Australian Mint told Yahoo Finance that "errors do not change the value of the coins, which remains at face value".
But coin experts said certain errors can cause a coin to skyrocket in value.
Mark Nemtsas from The Purple Penny told Yahoo Finance legitimate Woolies Olympic bullseye error coins could fetch between $1,000 to $3,000 at auction.
Other bullseyes have sold for nearly $6,000.
As for the coin with the missing letters, Nemtsas said that was a die-fill error and had an estimated value of $30 to $50.
"Grease or oil fills in the letters or other features on the dies and when the coins are struck those features are not formed on the coin because the grease or oil is incompressible," he explained.
Why are bullseye errors so valuable?
Coin expert Matthew Thompson of Thompsons Coins and Collectables told Yahoo Finance it was “very uncommon” for the Royal Australian Mint to make mistakes like this one, which was why the coins were so popular and could be sold for thousands of dollars.
“The Royal Australian Mint has some of the highest quality coins in the world and stringent procedures to stop these from happening,” the Melbourne collector said.
“So on the odd occasion it does, there’s a lot of excitement in the industry. But it can be difficult to research as the mint don’t really promote their mistakes.”
But you need to be very careful if you're shopping around for bullseye coins you see online.
Scammers have tried to create their own bullseye error coins and sell them for thousands of dollars to unsuspecting collectors.
Nemtsas told Yahoo Finance this proliferation of fake bullseyes caused the market to "collapse", but real ones can still fetch a high price if they're authenticated.
People who are tempted to buy one have been urged to take the coin to an authorised seller to get it independently verified.
Get the latest Yahoo Finance news - follow us on Facebook, LinkedIn and Instagram.
