First look at Royal Mint’s new commemorative coins for 2025

THE first batch of commemorative coins which will be available to buy in the New Year have been revealed.

The Royal Mint will launch five new coins commemorating upcoming national milestones and anniversaries in 2025.

This includes a new 50p coin which celebrates the 60th anniversary of the first Red Arrows display, the aerobatics display team of the Royal Air Force.

Another 50p will also be released to remember the Second World War.

The coin depicts the 1939–45 Star, Defence Medal and War Medal, awarded to millions for their wartime service.

The Royal Mint will also launch two new commemorative £2 coins.

One will honour the 200-year anniversary of the modern railway.

Meanwhile, the £2 coin will be launched to commemorate the 350th anniversary of the Royal Observatory, Greenwich.

Finally, a special £5 coin will be released to celebrate the late Queen Mother and mark 125 years since her birth.

The £5 coin depicts a portrait of The Queen Mother by Richard Guyatt, which formed part of the design on her 80th Birthday coin in 1980.

These coins will all be sold as a set on January 2 with prices starting at £39.50 and available to buy on The Royal Mint website.

If you do not want to buy all of them you can wait until later in the year when they will be released individually.

These coins are uncirculated, meaning they are for collectors and you would not receive one as change in a shop.

In the past, commemorative coins released by the Royal Mint have sold for way more than their face value on eBay.

For example, the Atlantic Salmon 50p has been valued at £85 after being crowned the UK’s rarest 50p coin in circulation.

Those wishing to get their hands on the valuable coin should look out for the unique engraving of a salmon jumping out of water.

The Royal Mint confirmed that 200,000 Atlantic Salmon coins were distributed to banks and post offices late last year, as part of a commemorative series marking the ascension of King Charles III.

But it is worth remembering that coins are only worth what buyers are willing to pay for them.

How to spot rare coins and banknotes

Rare coins and notes hiding down the back of your sofa could sell for hundreds of pounds.

If you are lucky enough to find a rare £10 note you might be able to sell it for multiple times its face value.

You can spot rare notes by keeping an eye out for the serial numbers.

These numbers can be found on the side with the Monarch’s face, just under the value £10 in the corner of the note.

Also, if you have a serial number on your note that is quite quirky you could cash in thousands.

For example, one seller bagged £3,600 after spotting a specific serial number relating to the year Jane Austen was born on one of their notes.

You can check if your notes are worth anything on eBay, just tick “completed and sold items” and filter by the highest value.

It will give you an idea of what people are willing to pay for some notes.

But do bear in mind that yours is only worth what someone else is willing to pay for it.

This is also the case for coins, you can determine how rare your coin is by looking a the latest scarcity index.

The next step is to take a look at what has been recently sold on eBay.

Experts from Change Checker recommend looking at “sold listings” to be sure that the coin has sold for the specified amount rather than just been listed.