Forgotten £1 coins tucked in piggy banks can fetch up to £60 on eBay.
Coin trackers and official records from The Royal Mint show that several designs command substantial premiums over their face value.
The highest prices belong to the 2011 Edinburgh City round pound, which stands as the single rarest modern £1 coin struck for circulation.
Only 935,000 Edinburgh coins were produced for the Capital Cities series, featuring Edinburgh Castle alongside the Latin edge inscription Nisi Dominus Frustra.
According to pricing data from MyCoinage, circulated examples of the Edinburgh coin typically sell on eBay for between £15 and £25.
Specimens kept in pristine, uncirculated condition or presentation packaging can fetch between £40 and £60 from collectors.
Capital Cities round pounds
Other coins from the Capital Cities series also trade for well above £1.
The 2011 Cardiff City coin had a mintage of 1,615,000 and sells for between £10 and £18 when circulated, rising to £40 in uncirculated state.
The 2010 London City pound saw 2,635,000 struck and regularly fetches between £6 and £12 in circulated condition.
A 2010 Belfast City pound, with a mintage of 6,205,000, generally changes hands for between £4 and £8.
All round pound coins were officially demonetised on October 15, 2017, meaning shops will no longer take them at the till.
Most high street banks will still allow account holders to deposit round pounds into their accounts.
The rarest 12-sided coins in active change
Those checking their modern change should look out for the 2022 twelve-sided coin.
The Royal Mint confirmed the 2022 edition is currently the rarest £1 coin in active UK circulation, with a mintage of 7,735,000.
The coin marks an important transition, featuring the fifth portrait of Queen Elizabeth II by Jody Clark alongside David Pearce's four nations design.
New coins bearing the effigy of King Charles III have since followed, including more than nine million 2025 coins decorated with British bees.
Trial coins and striking errors
Collector interest also extends to rare minting errors and pre-release trial pieces.
Around 200,000 twelve-sided trial coins were struck in 2016 for machine testing before the new shape entered public circulation.
Handled 2016 trial coins fetch between £15 and £30 on eBay, while pieces preserved in official packaging can reach £100 or up to £200.
An older 2008 dateless Royal Shield mule error round pound can sell for between £25 and £60.
Striking mistakes on modern coins, including double strikes and bimetallic misalignments, can also attract bids well above face value.
Buyers and sellers are urged to check the sold listings filter on eBay to see actual completed sale prices rather than optimistic asking rates.
Unrealistic listing prices often distort what buyers will genuinely pay for collectible coinage.
Checking piggy banks and sofa cushions could turn up a forgotten piece of currency worth far more than its face value.
Share