Auction House Gets Thousands Of Calls Over Old Irish 20p Coin That’s Worth Up To €6,000

An Irish auction house has been inundated with thousands of emails and phone calls from the public following the news that a rare 20p coin is selling for €6,000. Whyte’s auctioneers is selling the rare version of the old Irish coin from 1985 and according to Central Bank, fewer than 50 pieces of the 500 issued that year were not returned when the Euro was introduced in 2002. That means there is a chance that some of them could still be out there and Irish people have been in a frenzy trying to find out if their old 20p coins are worth anything since the news was announced last week. A spokesperson for the auction house told the Irish Examiner, “It’s been non-stop with people contacting us not only in Ireland but from abroad as well saying they have such a coin.” They added, “In one day alone, we received at least a hundred phone calls and scores of emails. "There has been little time to deal with anything else such is the amazing amount of interest in the coin and other possible coins from the same year being still out there.” While plenty of people have been delighted to discover they still have some old 20p coins lying around the house, they’re not worth a whole lot unless it’s the rare version specifically from 1985. Whyte's believe there are now only around 15 to 20 of the coins still out there and urged people “to look closely at the year on the coin before they jump for joy”. READ MORE: TripAdvisor Announces The 10 Best-Rated Destinations In Ireland For 2019