Where to sell commemorative coins in the UK

The great majority of modern commemorative coins are worth their face value and no more. The 1977 Silver Jubilee crown, the 1981 Royal Wedding crown, the 1965 Churchill crown and the 1997 to 1999 five pound crowns were struck in enormous numbers, and almost every household kept one. Supply massively exceeds demand.

That is worth saying plainly, because people are frequently told these coins are an investment. If yours falls into this group, you have not lost anything - it just is not the windfall the packaging implied.

Precious metal issues. Silver proof and gold proof versions of the same crown are a completely different proposition to the cupro-nickel one. A gold proof five pound coin contains real gold and carries a collector premium on top.

Low-mintage circulating coins. A small number of 50p and £2 designs were struck in genuinely small numbers and trade well above face - the 2009 Kew Gardens 50p is the well-known example, and it is also the most faked.

Complete original sets, with the box, certificate and outer sleeve intact. Presentation matters more here than on any other type of coin.

Error and mule strikes, where the wrong die pairing or a missing date slipped through. These are rare but genuinely valuable.

For proof and presentation coins, the original case and certificate of authenticity can account for a meaningful share of the value. Never throw them away before selling, and do not remove a coin from a sealed capsule to look at it - the capsule protects the surface and the buyer will want to see it undisturbed.

Fingerprints on a proof coin are effectively permanent and visibly reduce the grade. Handle by the edge, or better, do not handle it at all.

Online marketplaces reach a lot of buyers but take fees, and the market is saturated with the exact common crowns described above. For low-value coins, the listing effort rarely pays.

Specialist auction suits a genuinely rare piece - a low-mintage error, a gold proof set - and is worth the commission and the wait for those. For a box of mixed commemoratives it is not.

A local dealer is the practical answer for most collections. One visit, everything sorted in front of you, an honest split between what is worth money and what is not, and payment the same day.

We look at every coin individually rather than making an offer on the pile. If your set is worth face value, we will tell you, and you are free to keep it. If there is a silver proof or a scarce mintage hiding in there, that gets priced properly.

Nick covers South West London and Surrey from Teddington and visits homes free of charge. See sell coins for the towns we cover, or read how to sell old British coins first. To arrange a visit, call 07956 520733.