A youngster is quids in after receiving a rare gold sovereign in his change – worth £200.
Robert Hunt, 12, was mistakenly handed the Victorian 22ct coin by a cashier while out shopping.
And after taking it to auctioneers Lyon & Turnball the teenager was over the moon when they valued it at such a high price.
Robert, from Glasgow, said: “I had been shopping and I noticed that I had been given a very different coin in my change, I knew it wasn’t a pound and I thought maybe it was a foreign coin.
“I took it home and showed it to my Dad. He thought it was a sovereign and we decided to take it to Lyon & Turnbull.
“When they said it was worth probably £200 I couldn’t believe it.
Robert’s coin was minted in 1901 – the last year of Victoria’s reign.
It is a half sovereign which weighs roughly 3.99 grams and is made from 22ct gold.
Depending on the daily fix, the metal price of the coin is around £125. However, collectors can pay premiums for sovereigns which could see Robert’s coin sell for up to £200.
With the gold prices forecast by mostmajor banks to hit £1,500 an Oz, Robert could keep the coin as an investment that would see its value increase.
But Robert’s sovereign will be sold at Lyon & Turnbull’s Silver and Jewellery Sale which will be held in Edinburgh in March March 2013.
Colin Fraser, specialist at Lyon & Turnbull, said: “This is a fine example of a Victorian gold sovereign from the 1890’s.
“It is in good condition and is not worn in any way.
“It mustn’t have been in general circulation very much.
“It is the first time I have heard of anyone finding one in their change.”
Robert added: “I am looking forward to the auction and I will save most of the money I make, but I am going to spend some of it on buying computer games.”
The original English gold sovereign was last minted in 1604 but the name was used again with the minting of new sovereigns in 1817.
These new sovereign coins were minted in the United Kingdom from 1817 to 1917, in 1925, and from 1957.
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