How ‘clever’ football rule on your 50p could make it worth 60 TIMES more – do you one down the back of your sofa?

A COIN expert has revealed why a “clever” football rule on your 50p coin makes it worth 60 times more.

To celebrate the 2012 London Olympic Games, a unique set of 50p coins was issued by The Royal Mint.

The designs for each coin were selected from a national competition and a total of 29 designs made up the set, each featuring a different Olympic sport.

Known for being the scarcest of the coins, the Olympic Football 50p, also referred to as the Offside Rule 50p, has a worth 60 times greater than it should.

The particular piece features a simple diagram which explains the rule.

Coin collector and history enthusiast @coincollectingwizard told his 199,000 followers on TikTok to keep their eyes peeled for this rarity.

In his video he said: “Did you know there’s a valuable football 50p coin you can find?

“All of the London Olympics 50p designs were chosen through a public competition in 2009 and out of 30,000 submissions, this design was chosen for the Offside Rule 50p.”

The TikTokker continued: “The Olympics Offside Rule can be found in your change.

“Almost 1.2 million coins dated 2011 were issued into circulation.

“The coin cleverly features a depiction of the offside rule in football, which might help those who find the concept baffling I’m joking, of course.

“But seriously, this coin does a great job at demystifying the rule.”

Although you can find out what a coin’s mintage figure is by going on The Royal Mint’s website, @coincollectingwizard reckons you could still get £30 if the coin is in circulated condition and a “very nice” £20 in uncirculated condition.

In most cases, a coin is valuable if a low amount was put into circulation – known as its mintage figure.

Generally, the lower a coin’s mintage figure, the more you will be able to sell it for in an auction, on eBay or Facebook Marketplace.

Around 1.2 million of the Olympic Football 50p’s were put into circulation so don’t doubt your chances you might find one of these lying around in a drawer or pocket.

You might even get a fair bit of dosh for it.

Even recently, sellers have attempted to flog their ultra-rare Olympic coins for hundreds, if not thousands of pounds.

Earlier in September, one coin seller decided to put their Olympic 50p Boxing Coin on eBay for £700 – and somehow it sold for that amount.

This piece features a pair of boxing gloves crossed over each other inside a boxing ring with horizontal lines.

So, have a rummage and see what you can find – but if you would rather buy one of these silver pieces, ensure you do your research and watch out for fakes.

How to sell a rare coin

You can sell a rare coin on eBay, Facebook, or in an auction.

If you’re selling on Facebook, there are risks attached.

Sellers have previously been targeted by scammers on Facebook saying they want to buy a rare coin and asking for money upfront for a courier to pick it up.

But it’s a ruse to get money out of you and the courier is never sent.

To avoid this happening, it’s always best to meet a Facebook seller in person when buying or selling anything.

Ensure it’s a public meeting spot that’s in a well-lit area and if you can, avoid using payment links.

Most sellers prefer to deal with cash directly when meeting to ensure it’s legitimate.

The safest way to sell a rare coin is more than likely at auction. You can organise this with The Royal Mint’s Collectors Service.

It has a team of experts who can help you authenticate and value your coin.

You can get in touch via email and a member of the valuation team will get back to you.

You will be charged for the service though – the cost varies depending on the size of your collection.

You can also sell rare coins on eBay.

But take into account that if you manage to sell your item then eBay will charge you 10% of the money you made – this includes postage and packaging.

Always bear in mind when selling any rare coin, you will only get what the seller is willing to pay for it.