A rare error on a new British £2 coin celebrating George Orwell has caused prices to skyrocket to £250. The mistake occurred during a Royal Mint Experience tour where visitors strike their own coins. Coins minted on January 20th with the incorrect edge inscription are highly sought after by collectors. The Royal Mint is offering replacements for the affected coins, but they are already selling for hundreds of pounds online.
Coin enthusiasts are being alerted to keep a keen eye out for an extremely rare British £2 coin minted this week, which is already fetching prices of up to £250. Although not yet in widespread circulation, there's a chance this unique coin could turn up in your pocket change. The coin celebrates the iconic author George Orwell and features an eye on the reverse side, accompanied by the chilling phrase 'Big Brother is watching you' from his seminal work, 1984.
However, on Monday, January 20, a batch of these coins was produced with a significant error – the edge inscription was incorrect. This mishap occurred during a Royal Mint Experience tour, where visitors can strike their own coin. An expert known as Coin Collector UK took to TikTok to share insights about the blunder. He revealed: '£250 for newly discovered error coin. Yesterday approximately 60 error £2 coins were produced at the Royal Mint with the incorrect edge inscription. Collectors who visited the Royal Mint Experience yesterday for their strike your owns were quick to notice an error on their new £2.' The mistake arose as the experience had just switched its coin design from the flora £2 to the Orwell one, leading to some Orwell coins being struck with the flora inscription around the edge. He added: 'Every £2 coin has different edge lettering relating to the design. And the old flora blanks were still being used from the previous day. This meant that the George Orwell was stamped on £2 coins with the incorrect edge inscription reading ‘in servitio omnium’ instead of ‘there was truth and there was untruth’.' Already, these coins have been spotted on online marketplaces, fetching prices as high as £200, while others are listed for a staggering £500. He further added: 'Recent sold listings are £250 and some are listed for up to £500 due to the rarity of this error coin.' The Royal Mint is currently retailing £2 Orwell coins, without the error, for a mere £17.50. On its website, it describes the piece: 'Celebrate the life and legacy of George Orwell with a coin that portrays key themes of Orwell’s writings on the reverse. Artist Henry Gray has cleverly inserted what looks like an eye, but is in fact a camera lens, into the centre of the reverse design. The reverse features the inscription ‘BIG BROTHER IS WATCHING YOU’, a quote taken from 1984, which encircles the camera lens. ‘THERE WAS TRUTH AND THERE WAS UNTRUTH’, another quote from 1984, serves as the coin’s edge inscription. ' The Britannia Coin Collection shared news of the error, estimating that around 40 coins were affected. It stated: 'The error appears to have been swiftly corrected but is reported to affect around 40 coins. The Royal Mint has reportedly offered recipients of the error a replacement with the correct edge. ' People who took part in the tour paid £7.50 for the unique experience of striking their own coins. At the time of writing, three of these error coins were up for grabs on eBay. Two are listed at £450, while another is going for a cool £500
COIN ERROR £2 COIN GEORGE ORWELL ROYAL MINT COLLECTORS RARE COINS MARKETPLACE
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