Rare 50p coin sells for £10000 on eBay - and there are hundreds more in circulation

An incredibly sought-after Olympic fifty pence piece has exchanged hands for more than £10,000, 10 days after being listed on eBay by its owner.

The coin, which entered circulation nine years ago to mark the London 2012 Olympic Games, was placed online in May with a starting bid of just £10.

It quickly racked up 68 bids - taking the total amount to £10,101, in a huge jackpot for its owner.

"I don't understand much about coins," the seller wrote, "but I believe this coin is genuine. Do not bid if you don't feel confident."

In 2010 and 2011, 29 new 50p designs were released into circulation to mark the 2012 Olympics.

This included an Olympics Swimmer coin featuring wavy lines across the swimmer’s face, however, only 600 were ever produced before the design was amended to show the athlete's full face.

And that's what makes it so valuable.

Experts at coin specialists ChangeChecker predict that these coins could be worth between £1,000 and £1,500, but the most we've seen one sell for was £600 last August.

The seller found it on the beach using a metal detector and said they believed that the coin was in fact one of the rare editions.

If you've got one at home, check to see if the water lines cross over the swimmer's face - if they do, you could be on to a winner.

Of course, a coin is only worth what someone will pay for it so there's no guarantee that yours will sell for as much.

Coin Hunter has a new tool that reveals how much your rare 50p coin is really worth on eBay.

It's not the only coin tracker available - ChangeChecker.org launched a similar eBay league table this time last year.