A RARE 50p coin has sold for over 400 times its face value following a fierce bidding war.

Rare coins and notes can fetch for hundreds and sometimes thousands of pounds because there’s a limited amount in circulation.

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So it’s worth checking the loose change in your purse or wallet to see if you’ve got any hiding away.

Some rare error coins are worth over £200 while rare £20 notes have been known to sell for four times their face value in the past.

And one rare 50p recently sold for over £200 on eBay following a fierce bidding war.

One lucky owner managed to bag £207 for their 2009 Kew Gardens 2009 50p in August.

The piece is the rarest of all 50ps, according to The Royal Mint, with only 210,000 entering into general circulation.

The listing on eBay received 19 bids overall, with the first starting at £50 on August 6.

Bids gradually increased until the final offer of £207 was accepted a week later on August 13.

It’s not the first time a Kew Gardens has sold for multiple times its face value – it has been known to sell for £895 in the past.

Of course, bear in mind while the Kew Gardens 50p we saw sold for £207 last month, you might not always get the same amount.

A rare coin or bank note is only worth what someone is willing to pay for it.

How to check if a coin is valuable

In most cases, a coin increases in value the fewer there were produced and put into circulation.

You can check how many of a certain coin were put into circulation on The Royal Mint’s website.

As an example, the Kew Gardens 2009 50p has sold for so much in the past because only 210,000 were minted.

The next rarest 50p coin is the Olympic Football 2011 piece, of which 1,125,500 were minted, and you’re less likely to win big on one of these – we’ve seen them sell for £18 in the past.

It’s not always low mintage figures which make a coin more valuable though.

Ones that contain small and subtle minting errors have been known to sell for hundreds of pounds.

How to sell a rare coin

Once you’ve deemed whether a coin is rare or not, there’s a number of ways you can sell it, including through eBay, Facebook, or in an auction.

But be wary of the risks, particularly on Facebook.

There have been instances where fraudsters have contacted sellers saying they want to buy a rare coin and ask for money up front for a courier to collect it.

But the items were never picked up and sellers have been left out of pocket.

To avoid this happening it’s always worth meeting a potential buyer in person when using Facebook Marketplace.

Of course, make sure it’s in a public meeting spot that’s well-lit.

The safest way to sell a rare coin will more than likely be at auction.

You can organise doing this via The Royal Mint’s Collectors Service.

It has a team of experts who can help you authenticate and value your coin.

You can get in touch via email and a member of the valuation team will get back to you.

You will be charged for the service though – the cost varies depending on the size of your collection.

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