Royal Mint to release special Paddington Bear 50ps and one has already sold for £16k on eBay

The Royal Mint has announced that it will be releasing special Paddington Bear coins next week.
Paddington Bear is getting his own 50p coin Picture: The Royal MintPaddington Bear is getting his own 50p coin Picture: The Royal Mint
Paddington Bear is getting his own 50p coin Picture: The Royal Mint

The beloved bear from darkest Peru will be appearing on the new fifty pence pieces as part of the celebrations for his 60th anniversary.

Created by author Michael Bond, the beloved character made his first appearance in the book ‘A Bear Called Paddington’ which was released in 1958.

To help celebrate the anniversary the Royal Mint has created the special fifty pence pieces and they will feature the marmalade loving bear at two of his most iconic locations.

The beloved bear is turning 60 Picture: StudioCanalThe beloved bear is turning 60 Picture: StudioCanal
The beloved bear is turning 60 Picture: StudioCanal

Fans should be able to recognise him sitting on his suitcase in Paddington station, where he was found by the Brown family, and waving a British flag outside Buckingham Palace.

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Paddington Bear’s special coins will not be released into general circulation, so you won’t be stumbling across one while getting your change unfortunately. However they will be available to purchase from Monday and start from £10.

But one of the coins was accidentally released into the public and found by a college student in Wales. The savy student then listed the fifty pence piece on Ebay where it eventually sold for £16,000, This Is Money reports.

The student found the coin in her change after visiting a shop in Caerphilly, South Wales, which is just a few miles down the road from where The Mint is based in Llantrisant.

So if you managed to get your hands on one of the Paddington coins when they go on sale next week, it might be worth keeping it safe because you never know how much they could be worth to a collector one day.

As well as being commemorated on the Royal Mint’s special coins, one final Paddington Bear book has been published as part of the celebrations around the beloved character’s 60th anniversary.

Paddington at St Paul’s, the last book written by creator Michael Bond before his death last year, was released at the end of May.

If you want to get your hands (or paws) on one of the coins they will be availble to purchase from the Royal Mint’s website here on Monday.