1983 new pence, two pence that worth £500

Yesterday, I read a news about a Weston couple hoping to make thousands from two pence. Brian and Penny Drury, of Palmer Street, stumbled across the rare find in a collectors' pack bought 26 years ago. Brian, aged 43, ordered the souvenir pack from a national newspaper and it has been hidden away and forgotten about since. But when Penny, also aged 43, was told last week that a 1983 two pence coin with new pence written on was valuable she told her husband who confirmed they did have one in their drawer. Brian has put the coin on eBay and is hoping to be able to clear his overdraft with the money he raises from the sale. I try to find this couple auction on eBay but cannot find them.

Photo by: Weston & Somerset Mercury

The British decimal two pence (2p) coin – often pronounced "two pee" – was issued by the Royal Mint on 15 February 1971, the day the British currency was decimalised. In practice it had been available from banks in bags of £1 for some weeks previously. As of December 2005 there were an estimated 6,421 million 2p coins in circulation. The coin was initially minted from bronze, but since 1992 it has been minted in copper-plated steel except for a few months in 1998 when bronze was used again. As copper-plated steel is less dense than bronze, post-1992 coins have been slightly thicker. The original reverse of the coin, designed by Christopher Ironside, is the Badge of the Prince of Wales: a plume of ostrich feathers within a coronet, above the German motto ICH DIEN ("I serve"). The numeral "2" is written below the badge, and either NEW PENCE (1971–1981) or TWO PENCE (from 1982) is written above.

Many people have two pence in their drawer like this couple but only 1983 2 pence with the word new pence on it consider as rare. One website states that the odds of finding a 1983 'new pence' coin are around one in 14,000,000. Consider yourself lucky if you found one of this coin. If you're intended to sale your coin, the price on eBay is between £500 to £700. If you need my advice whether to sale or keep this coin. Keep them for at least 5 years, most probably it will worth five time their current price after that. By the way, it only have a two pence face value. Why do you need to rush selling them? The price will go up every year.

Source: Weston & Somerset Mercury, Wikipedia