Rare Christmas 50p sells for £150 on eBay – and there’s thousands more out there

The festive 1998 coin features an image of Santa and a chimney with the word “Christmas” at the top and comes with a matching commemorative card – do you have one in your piggy bank?

A rare Christmas themed 50p coin has sold for £150 on eBay after sparking a bidding war.

The festive 1998 coin features an image of Santa and a chimney with the word “Christmas” at the top and comes with a matching commemorative card.

It sold for £151.25 on eBay on September 30 – around 300 times its face value – after attracting 24 bids.

The coin had been listed for ten days and had a starting price of just £1, with postage costing £6.85 from a buyer listing in England.

However, this particular Christmas coin was actually minted in Gibraltar – which means it is technically not legal tender in the UK.

It also wasn’t released into circulation, instead being designed as a commemorative piece.

Saying that, it still isn’t impossible that one might turn up in your spare change – so it’s worth keeping an eye out.

Christmas coins are likely to be worth more as the festive season approaches with collectors wanting to add some seasonal pieces to their collection.

This Christmas coin has a mintage of 30,000, according to change checking website Coin Hunter.

In its description on its website, Coin Hunter says: “Coins struck for Gibraltar since 1997 have been produced by Pobjoy Mint and Tower Mint.

“Coins may be struck for circulation and/or commemorative packaged products.”

Do you have a rare coin in your collection? Let us know: mirror.money.saving@mirror.co.uk

On its scarcity index, which ranks coins in terms of how rare they are to find, Coin Hunter ranked this Christmas design as 65 out of 100.

Coins that are rated 100 on its scarcity index are the hardest to find, with zero being very common.

If you’re thinking about buying a coin on eBay, you should always do your research first to make sure you’re not bidding on a fake.

Websites and Facebook groups from change experts like Coin Hunter can help you work out if a coin is the real deal or not.

You can also get coins verified by the Royal Mint.

In more rare coin news, last week we saw a rare Blue Peter Olympic 50p fetch a whopping £286 on eBay.

We’ve also got a guide on the rarest error coins that could be worth up to £3,100.

Another coin to watch out for is this bizarre 20p with no date on – it can fetch up to £60 on eBay.