BRITS are being urged to check their holiday cash for some ultra-rare Euro coins in circulation that could be worth thousands.
Although the Euro is a newer currency, some of its coins are still incredibly valuable.
Anyone who pops to the continent for a break is likely to come back with a fistful of coins rattling around their pockets.
And when you hear the value of these coins, you’ll waste no time in combing through your stash.
With the Euro only in circulation since 2002, the really valuable finds tend to be “error coins”.
These are Euros or cents where there was a mistake in the minting process – resulting in defects to the shape or stamp.
Those kinds of mistakes are very uncommon – making the coins seriously valuable.
Vatican Euro coin mule with two reverses
The most lucrative Euro coin to be sold is a Vatican Euro mule with two reverses.
A mule is a coin with mismatching stamps on either side.
On this specimen, one side was stamped with the 50 cent reverse and the other with the 20 cent reverse.
This meant there was no head on either side.
Just one example of this combination is known to have ever been found.
It sold for a whopping $2,875 in 2008.
French 20 Euro cents double-reverse
Next, there was a French 20 cent coin stamped with two reverses.
Both sides of this coin were with identical 20 cent reverse prints.
Again, that means there was no head in sight.
This rare gem went for $1,265 in 2008.
French Euro 2001 mint error
Another erroneous French coin, this time from 2001, attracted a hefty price tag for a rare minting error.
The one Euro design was stamped onto a 20-cent planchet.
Planchet is the name for a blank coin template.
The 20-cent planchet is considerably smaller than a Euro, so the result was a design spilling off the edge of the gold disc.
A collector paid $920 for one of these in 2008.
French 50 Euro cent on a two-cent planchet
Finally, there was a French 50 cent coin that somehow got stamped onto a two-cent planchet.
The 50-cent coins are a different colour – silver – to their 2-cent counterparts.
So, the mix-up led to the unusual creation of a copper-coloured 50-cent coin.
One eagle-eyed person spotted the anomaly in 2022 and sold it for $216.
