Blackburn woman hopes to cash in on 20p find (From Blackburn Citizen)

Blackburn woman hopes to cash in on 20p find

9:30am Friday 3rd July 2009

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A BLACKBURN mum could turn her loose change into serious cash after finding a rare undated 20p coin.

Jackie Gould, 40, of Parklands Way, was rummaging through the contents of her purse when she stumbled across one of the coins that have sold for hundreds of pounds on internet websites.

She said: “I don’t know what to do with myself.

“I’m shaking still. This has come completely out of the blue.

“Since I heard about the coins I’ve been checking my change every day in the hope of finding one.

“I emptied my money onto my bedroom table and to my surprise I found one of them.

“I don’t know how I came across the piece.

“It could have been when I went to do my shopping and I also visited Saml-esbury Hall.”

Miss Gould’s jackpot came after the Royal Mint accidentally produced about 200,000 of the coins without a date.

It is the first time this has happened in more than 300 years.

The in-demand coins occured after the old design, with the date on the tail side, was replaced by a new edition with the date on the Queen’s head side in 2008.

A minting error saw a batch created with both sides un-dated.

Miss Gould, who works for the Youth Offending Team in the town, now plans to sell the piece and splash out during her pre-booked holiday to Tenerife with partner Carl Willets 34, daughter Samantha Willets-Gould, five, and son Nathan Gould, 17.

Steve Darlington, 52, works at Alpha Coins and Metal, a dealership in Accrington.

Although he has taken few calls about the 20p coins, he is expecting this number to rocket in the coming days.

Mr Darlington has advised caution for prospective buyers.

He said: “Nobody knows the true value of the coins yet.

“I noticed one selling on eBay two days ago for £5,800 but the price seems to have dropped since then to between £300 and £350.

“The fact is there are up to 200,000 of them out there and if all these are found this could lower their value.”

The London Mint Office are offering to buy the coins for £50.

To register for free visit the website below.

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