THE RARE First World War £2 sits proudly in the collection of any history buff or coin collector alike.

It's one of the hardest to come by in your change, though not impossible – but exactly how much is it worth if it does pop up in your pocket?

It's not that old, as the coin was only issued in 2015.

It was designed by David Rowlands and made to celebrate the 100th Anniversary of the First World War.

But more specifically, the commemorative coin pays tribute to the Royal Navy.

To most, it's just called the First World War coin but officially on The Royal Mint's archive, the coin is called the Sure Shield of Britain.

The design itself features a battleship approaching on the open sea and serves as a snapshot reminder of the coastal efforts from the War efforts over 100 years ago.

Most importantly though, the coin is very rare – we take a look at what it means to spot one in your change.

RARE COINS AND VALUABLE NOTES

How rare is the First World War £2?

There are only 650,000 of the First World War (Navy) £2 that exist.

In comparison around 417million £2 coins are in circulation overall, with an estimated face value of £834 million.

While that's a lot of change to wrap your head around, Change Checker's latest scarcity index update gives an insight on where this particular £2 ranks amongst others.

It has a score of 74 which is quite high up in the charts.

The scarcity index ranks each of the coins between 1 and 100 to indicate how hard they are to find, as well as how in demand they may be.

The higher the number, the rarer the coin and therefore it's more likely to be more valuable than others.

It holds fourth spot on the latest update with only the collection of Commonwealth £2 coins topping it.

The Navy coin has also moved up two spaces since it was last reviewed.

How much is the First World War £2 worth?

Despite it being so rare, the coin hasn't had a great lot of interest on the likes of eBay or other online auctioning sites.

Lately, the most the coin has sold for is £21.

While that's still above face value, it's only about 10 times more than you'd get for it as general tender.

If you want to sell on a copy of the coin yourself, you might want to think about getting it officially verified by change experts to add some value to the sale.

Or try completing the War collection and selling as a bundle.

When you're buying and selling on eBay you have to keep in mind all the hidden charges, so when you add up sellers fees and postage, to name a few, you might only earn as much as the face value of the coin anyway.

Are there others like it?

It's not the only First World War design out there.

There's also a copy that came out a year before the Navy version, but it's not as rare.

The Kitchener design features imagery that was prominent in British government propaganda campaigns during War time time, but a grand total of 5,720,000 were minted when it came out in 2014.

That means it's more likely to pp up in your change than the Navy copy, so collectors don't deem it quite as valuable.

There's a very rare version of the coin with errors though that's sold for as much as £500 in the past.

Only two so far have ever cropped up in collectors' change, so it's very valuable to come across.

There's also another copy that came out in 2016 too, but the third issue Army version is even more common with a mintage figure of 9,550,000.

Are the other coins in my change valuable?

Much like how each of the First World War coins are commemorative, similar designs are often desirable for collectors.

There's a collection containing 29 different designs of each of the sports from the 2012 Olympic games for example, and these will regularly sell above face value.

Some of them sell for more than others, but it's all because of how low the mintage figures are.

That being said, a coin will only sell above face value if someone is willing to bid that much.

One of the most popular coins to collect is the Kew Gardens 50p and this can go for over £300 in some cases, as it's so rare and sought after.

Coins with errors will usually gain a lot of interest too.

But from one day to the next, that interest can change so there's no hard and fast guarantee you'll be minted by snapping one up.

If you look at other listings on eBay you'll be able to determine how much your own change could go for.

But be cautious of fakes, as they'll often show up online.

You should also always keep in mind that on eBay a buyer could pull out, which means the coin won't have sold for the price it says it has.

But if you're worried, or want a definitive answer to how much your change is worth, you can check your change with experts like Coin Hunter or The Royal Mint.

They'll be able to tell you if your change is worth what others are saying or maybe more.

Rare coins and valuable notes – is yours worth a mint?

• Five rarest coins – do you have one?
• The 13 most valuable £2 coins in circulation
• How valuable are the rarest £1 coins?
• Most rare and valuable 50p coins in circulation
• Rare and most valuable 20p coins that could be worth up to £750
• Rarest 10p coins in circulation
• Rare 2p coins revealed
• How to check if you have a rare and valuable banknote

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