A man has urged people to take a close look at their spare change after he sold a rare 50p coin for an “astronomical amount” online.
Darren James purchased the Kew Gardens 50p coin, created in 2009, and 'threw it to the back of his cupboard'.
The commemorative coin, minted to mark 250 years since Kew Gardens opened in 1759, lay there forgotten until a chance encounter with an advertisement reminded Darren to check the value.
The 34-year old who lives in Plymouth put the coin on eBay after seeing a ‘check your change’ advertisement, and a quick Google search showed coins just like his were selling for hundreds of pounds.
He said he felt “shocked” as the bids started coming in, with about 200 people watching the sale as the auction deadline approached, PlymouthLive reports.
Darren said: "I bought the coin at the height of the craze when people were collecting 50ps and I also collected some of the Olympic ones. I bought it for quite a high price, about £80 at the time, and I thought I would just throw it in the back of the cupboard.
"When I saw an advert about to 'check your change' for rare coins, I thought I would Google the coin I had and realised people were buying them for an astronomical amount and gave mine a go."
Asked how he felt when the coin sold for £186.11, he said: "Brilliant. It was a bit of a shock because it was a bit of a panic bid towards the end and the starting price was much lower than what I sold it for. Within the last five minutes of the sale closing, the price just rocketed through the roof.
"It was bid after bid after bid - my phone went nuts. I went from two or three people watching it to the last day of it being sold to nearly 200 people watching it. I don't understand how people got their bids in so quickly.
"Definitely check your change. If you have got anything lying around which is a bit unusual or bespoke I would get it checked and see if it's worth anything. There are people out there who buy these coins for astronomical prices. It's a bit ridiculous - but hey ho."
