We have two Salmon 50p coins - are they worth £150 and set to grow in value? DAN HATFIELD replies

I was emptying out a piggy bank with my son recently and two 50p coins caught my eye as I hadn't seen them before.

They have a leaping salmon on them and King Charles on the reverse, with the year 2023, in extremely good condition.

I had a quick look online and think they might be worth much more than face value… but also know there are plenty of chancers out there when it comes to over-inflating prices.

How much do you reckon we'd get selling them? And would you sell one, and keep hold of one? Could they grow in value in the future?

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Dan Hatfield, resident This is Money expert valuer, replies: I am a 50p enthusiast and know I'm not alone.

My This Morning colleague, Josie Gibson, loves them like I do and just last week on live TV, I was discussing the Kew Garden 50p coin while presenting my Trash or Treasure phone-in with Alison Hammond and Dermot O'Leary.

I've collected them for many years and love looking out for new ones when the latest incarnations are released.

Josie and I aren't the only ones either, as the humble 50p is one of the most collected item in the UK.

They've captured the heart of the nation for good reason – they're accessible, they give us the hope of finding a rare gem worth many times its face value that could be found in our own pockets.

It also helps their shape and design allow for an ever-changing array of commemorative editions, each with its own unique appeal.

Now, you only need to glance at the news or scroll through social media to find daily articles on the supposed value of one 50p coin or another.

Headlines like '50p sells for 6,000 times its value' and 'Kew Gardens 50p listed for £10,000' fuel the frenzy.

It's no wonder people are left scratching their heads over what their coins might be worth.

The amount of conflicting information around the 50p is staggering, but with money tight, headlines like this draw in the crowds, in the hope that they have the golden ticket, or rather the elusive 50p.

My inbox is regularly flooded with emails and social media messages, often featuring photographs of entire piggy banks emptied onto the floor, all asking the same question: is my 50p worth a fortune?

This is Money editor Lee Boyce says he still receives emails daily about coins after being at the forefront of the modern coin and banknote collecting craze.

And in the past decade of writing about coins, he is keen to stick to the facts when it comes to valuations.

So, let's cut through the hype – you see, in life I can be quite the fantasist but when it comes to making money, I am also a stickler for the facts.

A quick search on eBay might make you think you've hit the jackpot but let me be clear – just because a coin is listed for an eye-watering price doesn't mean it will actually sell for that amount.

I've seen a 50p coin listed for a £100,000, at which point I was screaming at the screen 'it's a bloody 50p not a Picasso' - it would be ludicrous to think a 50p would ever demand such a price tag.

Even your Atlantic Salmon coin has been listed for £10,000 previously. Now, if that seller can get anywhere near that figure, not only would I applaud them but also offer them a job at my shop.

If you are going to use eBay to understand selling prices, then you'll find a realistic overview of value by looking in the 'sold' section of their site.

Here you will see a clear picture of what collectors are actually paying for various coins.

Some 50p coins can command decent money. The Kew Gardens 50p is the poster child for valuable, modern, circulation coins.

With a mintage of just 210,000, it's long been the holy grail of the 50p world.

Prices for the circulated versions tend to fetch around £150, whereas the uncirculated coins have reached as high as £700 - depending on condition.

So, let's talk about your Atlantic Salmon 50p coins. Until late last year, even us keen numismatists were in the dark about just how many of these had been minted.

Then, in October 2024, The Royal Mint revealed the number – just 200,000, which makes it even rarer than the Kew Gardens 50p.

As soon as collectors got wind of this small mint, the price skyrocketed and now, these coins are selling for around £80 to £100 each.

That's up to 200 times more than their face value – not bad for something you pulled out of your piggy bank. And the fact that you have two is extremely lucky.

But now for the all-important question, will they go up in value?

It's hard to say, but with my market knowledge and decades of experience with these coins, the short answer is most likely yes, but it may take some time.

Unlike the Kew Gardens coin which continued an upward trajectory in value after we learned how many had been minted, the Atlantic Salmon, skyrocketed at first but has since held firm.

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We know factually, that the 50p is a collector's item, the Kew Gardens coin alone has been on the market over 10 years and is still in demand so I am confident that the Atlantic Salmon 50p coin will follow suit.

From my experience they will also become rarer as collectors find them and hold on to them for long term investments – thus, supply will dwindle.

Basic economics tells us that when demand remains strong and supply shrinks, prices will rise.

So, where does that leave you? If you're looking for a quick payday, you could sell now and make a healthy profit - the pair of them should make you £160-£200.

But if you're willing to play the long game, I suspect your Atlantic Salmon 50ps will be worth double what they are today within the next five to 10 years.

That's not a guarantee, and interest of course could simply wane, which is why you might be tempted to sell one, hold one.

I urge everyone to keep an eye on what they are putting in their pockets because if the past decade of 50p collecting has taught me anything, it's that you never know when the next rare coin may be swimming into circulation.