A SMALL number of 2015 Britannia £2 coins showing the Queen's head upside down are in circulation, and they could be worth a small fortune.

Just 1 in around 200 of the coins show the Queen’s head rotated clockwise by around 150 degrees, making it very rare.

First discovered by blog Change Checker, and confirmed as genuine by The Royal Mint, this unusual strike appears on a "handful" of the 2015 Britannia £2 Coins.

The Royal Mint said the misalignment was “almost certainly the result of one of the dies working loose and rotating during the striking process”.

While it didn't say how many inverted effigy coins have entered circulation, Change Checker analysed 5,000 circulation coins and found that as few as 1 in 200 of the coins had upside down heads.

The 2015 £2 Britannia is already one of the rarest circulating £2 coins ever issued, Change Checker said, with just 650,000 coins passing through banks and cash centres.

That places it third equal in the all-time low mintage charts.

While we don't know how much these coins could fetch on eBay, similarly rare £2 coins with errors on them – such as one released in 2007 to mark the 200th anniversary of the 1807 Abolition Of The Slave Trade – have been offered on the auction site for £300.

Although they're listed at this price, however, these sold coins have actually gone for around £12.

A spokesperson for Change Checker said that "recent experience suggests [the 2015 Britannia £2 coins] could command a substantial premium."

How can you sell a rare coin if you find one?

For specialist coins, or ones that are much older and have a higher value, speak to an expert.
Try a valuation service like Chards.co.uk or ValuemyStuff.co.uk. They will help you work out if it’s worth taking it to auction.
For the more modern coins, like the 50p Kew Garden coin or £2 Mule Britannia, then selling on eBay is a good bet. Check the auction site to see how much the coin is going for.
It’s easy for someone to list a coin for thousands of pounds but the “completed” listings will give you a more realistic idea of the selling price.
Remember to factor in listing fees before deciding whether to sell the coin.

This isn't the first time a coin has appeared with an error. In 2008 a 20p coin was printed without a date on either side of the coin.

And last year a silver 2p was found. Despite people initially thinking it was fake, the Royal Mint confirmed that the coin was a result of a minting error.

Somehow a 10p "blank" had found its way into the presses and a 2p was accidentally struck onto it, they said.

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