2017-07-17 Mon

New £1 coins are making their presence felt, giving the old round ones a farewell. However, there are some limited edition versions which could bring a hefty amount if people just looked inside their wallet or purse. Replacing the current 'Round pound', introduced more than 34 years ago, the coin features a security-proof hologram, which flickers between a '£' symbol to the number '1', under different lights.

But there is a difference between the new £5 notes and the coins as the coins do not possess serial numbers, so people will have to be really watchful and catch the clues. Money expert Alex Cassidy from GoCompare’s Coining It In, tells viewers that they can spot a special edition coin. The 2017 £1 coin is bi-metallic, in this case, an outer gold coloured nickel-brass band with an inner silver coloured cupro-nickel disc. Alex adds that because of this, any potential die errors during production, which occurs when the dies have become misaligned, could be worth a lot of money. Punters should pay attention to both the floral crown on the reverse side for any rotations, as well as the Queen's head, which should sit directly above the new bevelled edge.

Almost 200,000 brand new coins were sent out to retailers last year for testing. Although they were termed as trial coins and not legal tender, still they were bought for hundreds of pounds on eBay. Owner Glanvog sold his edition for £200 last month after bidders ramped up the war for the sought after coin.

Chards is famous coin and bullion dealer based in the UK. The firm buys and trades coins, jewellery and specialises in valuable gold and silver. According to the experts, the most valuable of all the £1 coins will be the 'proof' coins - the special pre-production samples - often used for approval purposes and produced to a much higher standard of finish.

The first batch of new £1 coins will commemorate the achievements of Jane Austen, Sir Isaac Newton and The Royal Flying Corps - all expert pioneers in their fields. It seems to be a good year for collectors, with the trend of 50p collectable limited release coins continuing into the new £1 coins.