Coins stamped with swastikas

A FIFTY-pence piece has been found with a swastika stamped on it.

One horrified woman spotted an eagle carrying the Nazi symbol, circled above, on the Queen’s head on a 50p in her change at the weekend. Others have found similar fascist icons on 50p and £2 coins.

Nicola Harrison, 37, received the 1997 50p at a petrol station near her home in Leeds. Posting the photo on Facebook, she said: ‘My first thought was how has someone managed to get away with this?’

The Royal Mint said it ‘strongly disapproves of the defacing of coins in this way,’ adding: ‘Doing so is often counterproductive as the defaced coins are quickly removed from circulation.’

In 2015 a 50p was discovered stamped with an eagle carrying a swastika and the initials SS. And a collector found the symbols on a £2 in Coventry the same year.