Don’t be fooled by the 50p eBay con

SNEAKY eBay sellers are trying to trick coin enthusiasts into paying thousands of pounds for a ‘rare’ 50p piece that’s actually worth . . . just 50p.

Dozens of 50p coins with Benjamin Britten written on the back are listed online for vast sums as high as £6,589.

Sellers are writing descriptions saying these coins are extremely hard to come by.

In fact, the Royal Mint has issued 5.3million 50p identical coins since 2013 that honour the composer, conductor and pianist Benjamin Britten.

This is roughly the same number as other 50p designs.

In one eBay auction, tracked by Money Mail’s sister website This is Money, a Benjamin Britten 50p went for just 11p plus postage and packaging of £1.99.

Online salesmen are free to set any price they like on online marketplaces such as eBay. So those getting caught will have no recourse.

Some ordinary 50p coins can fetch a larger prices, depending on the rarity.

For example, only 210,000 coins stamped with the Kew Garden Pagoda were produced to mark the 250th anniversary of the Royal Botanic Gardens, so they can sell for anything up to £50.

The ‘silver proof’ version of the Benjamin Britten coin — made from 92.5pc silver, rather than 75 pc copper and 25 pc nickel of the standard coin — is worth a lot more than its face value.

Only 1,000 were made by the Royal Mint with an original price of £90. These can now sell for more than £300.

But it is highly unlikely that one of these will show up in your change.

Something of a myth appears to have built up around the Benjamin Britten 50p coins.

It was the first 50p coin to show both date and denomination on the ‘heads’ side of the coin, according to the Royal Mint.

Independent blog Change Checker says coin collectors buying one that’s in mint condition should spend no more than £10.