Window cleaner finds coin worth Dh11,700

The coin has the year 2016 printed on one side of the coin - but on the converse side 2017 is engraved in micro-lettering

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Published: Sat 8 Jul 2017, 2:01 PM

Last updated: Sat 8 Jul 2017, 10:15 PM

When a window cleaner in the UK found a £1 coin, he didn't imagine it could be worth £3,000 (or Dh11,700)
Richard Bird, from Hull, found the 12-sided rare coin in June - which the Royal Mint confirms is genuine and 'faulty'.
The coin has the year 2016 printed on one side of the coin - but on the converse side 2017 is engraved in micro-lettering, reports say.
The new £1 coins, which entered circulation back in March, all feature a 'counterfeit proof' hologram, which flickers between a '£' symbol to the number '1', under different lights. They're dated just once, with the year of production engraved to the left of the Queen's head, reports Daily Mirror.
"It's been confirmed that it is what I thought it was. The people from the Royal Mint have seen it and saw it as a genuine and are now investigating how it got into circulation," Bird, who is a coin collector too, points out.
Bird says there should be other coins with similar fault could be in circulation, and these might be worth big sums for "anyone who can find them".
In a letter, the Assistant Curator at the Royal Mint said: "The Royal Mint produces around five billion coins each year and we have strict quality controls in place.
"Our robust quality checks were successful in highlighting a fault in a small batch of coins. These coins were removed before they entered circulation and, therefore, we are investigating how this coin got into the public domain.
"We are committed to producing a consistently high standard of coins and thank you for bringing this our attention."
Bird has displayed the coin for sale on eBay. He wants to contribute part of the proceeds to We Love Manchester Emergency Fund, set up by Manchester City Council and Red Cross after the May 22 terror attack at Ariana Grande's concert.