Rare 'mistake' £1 coin sells for more than £200

A £1 coin appearing to be minted with the new design only on side is sold on eBay

One side has the old £1 coin while the other is minted with the new bi-metal coin (Change Checker/Zeki Atma)

A rare £1 coin with a mistake in its design has sold online for more than £200, and other examples featuring the same error could also be in circulation, according to experts.

The rare coins in question apparently have one side minted with the brand new £1 coin design, which launched in March, while the other side features the old £1 that went out of circulation in October.

One of the coins is listed as having sold for £205 on online auction side eBay in January, receiving 22 bids.

A spokesperson for the Royal Mint did not verify the coin sold online, but said that “whilst there are tight quality controls in place throughout the production process, it is possible that rare variances may occur in a small number of coins, particularly in the striking process”.

Rare coin verification site Change Checker says it has seen three examples of the coins featuring the error, one of which is due to be sold at an auction in London on Wednesday 21 February.

Change Checker advises anyone who finds a rare coin to verify it with the Royal Mint Museum.

The Royal Mint will make new rare coins this year to celebrate 200 years since the publication of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein and a century since some women were given the right to vote.

Newly minted £2 coins will also commemorate 100 years since the end of the First World War.