An unusual £1 coin featuring King Charles III on the wrong side has sold for 90 times its value.
The 2025 £1 coin was snapped up for £90.08 on eBay after 16 bids, with collectors noticing that the King’s portrait and a bee design had appeared on opposite sides to where they should be.
Instead of being on the obverse of the coin, King Charles III’s portrait was minted on the reverse, with the bee design, usually on the reverse, switched to the obverse.
This minting error meant the centre of each side did not match up with the coin’s outer inscription.
How to Get Your Old Coins Valued
The eBay listing described the coin as both “rare” and an “unusual album filler for collectors”.
In the listing, the description read: “The product is a unique 2025 one pound coin from Great Britain, featuring an error where the centre round is in the wrong way.”
It added: “This rare coin is made with a fineness of 0.925 and is considered an unusual album filler for collectors.”
The listing also stated: “Uncertified and ungraded, this one pound coin holds a special place in the world of British decimal coinage, making it a valuable addition to any coin collection.”
The misprint, which drove the price far above its face value, is likely to see more people checking their change for possible collector’s items.
The £1 coin was first issued in April 1983 and underwent a major change to a 12-sided design in 2017.
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What makes a coin valuable?
The 50 pence piece has become the most valued and collected coin in the UK, with many collectable designs appearing on its heptagonal canvas.
Its 27.5mm diameter makes it the largest of any British coin , and allows space for decorative pictures. It has often been used to celebrate big events over the past 50 years of British history.
The rarest coins tend to be of the greatest value, with the mintage (number of coins with each design made) being the fundamental attraction for collectors.
Along with the design, other aspects of the coin which increase value are the condition of the coin and whether it has an error in its design.
The way in which it is sold can also determine the coin’s value - while some coin collectors will bid vast amounts of money on ebay or at auction, others opt for more robust valuations by selling via a coin dealer.
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