THE SPORT of Judo involves holding down your opponent, but coin collectors would argue it’s just as hard to pin down a rare coin like the Judo 50p.
The Judo 50p makes it into the top five rarest of its kind, so it’s worth keeping an eye out for one of these in your change.
It was designed by David Cornell, and came out as part of a 29 piece collection to celebrate the Olympics in London in 2012.
The rare coin entered circulation a little earlier than that though, as along with the others, it was minted in 2011.
Each version depicts a sport from the games, and this one features an image of two athletes mid throw in a Judo tournament.
But how much is an image like that worth on a 50p found in your change? We reveal.
Rare coins
Only 1,161,500 Judo 50ps were minted when the design entered circulation in 2011.
That’s even less than the Triathlon 50p issued around the same time – which has a mintage figure of 1,163,500.
But the Triathlon 50p, along with a few other Olympic coin designs, trump the Judo copy when it comes to Change Checker’s scarcity index.
The scarcity index ranks each of the coins between one and 100 to indicate how hard they are to find, as well as how in demand they may be.
The higher the number, the rarer the coin – and this can make it more valuable too which means you could be quids in if you have your own copy.
The Judo coin has a score of 80 in the latest update, and it’s in fifth place overall.
It’s also deemed “very scarce” by the change experts.
But it’s beat by three of its Olympic counterparts to the top spot, as well as the Kew Gardens 50p, which has 100 points and sits in 1st place on the index.
Despite it being very rare, the most we have seen a Judo 50p sell for on eBay is £20.
That particular listing sold for 40 times more than the face value of the coin though – which is just 50p.
Another seller managed to make £18 from a copy of the coin that came complete with the collector’s card.
But some sellers have managed to sell their whole hoard of Olympic 50ps for up to £134 on eBay.
They sold all 29 coins from the set, so it’s worth keeping in mind if you’re close to completing your collection as you could sell it all for more.
There are at least 28 other Olympic coins that could make you a few quid, but what about other rare coins?
If you spot a different unique design on the 50ps in your change, you could find it’s just as valuable – and make a lot of money from it.
That being said, a coin is only worth what someone is willing to bid on it.
Look for designs with a low mintage, as these will be more valuable to collectors as they are harder to get their hands on.
You can check in with experts like Coin Hunter, Change Checker, or The Royal Mint to see what your change is worth.
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Then try selling it on eBay – other listings on eBay will help you to see how much you could get too.
But beware of fakes – and keep in mind that a buyer could always pull out, which means the coin won’t have sold for the price it says it has.
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