A RARE Royal Mint coin inspired by popular children's books by Beatrix Potter is on sale for up to £1,200 on an auction website.

The 2018 Peter Rabbit 50p coin sold from Stourport for £6.39 but some eBay sellers are putting similar rare coins on the market for over £1,000 because they are so rare and popular with collectors.

For example, the Beatrix Potter 2017 The Tale Of Peter Rabbit 50p coin is selling on eBay - one for £400 and also for £1,200.  

Popular Beatrix Potter 50ps are being sold in and around Worcester on eBay for more than their face value. 

City seller's most favourable coin is the Jemima Puddle-Duck coin which is on sale for between £7.79 and £9.

The coin was circulated in 2016 to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the birth of Beatrix Potter.

Also released to mark Beatrix's birthday were the Squirrel Nutkin 50p coin and the Mrs Tiggy-Winkle, which was sold most recently in Worcester for £2.

The coins were made in 2016, 2017, and 2018, and they came with a Beatrix Potter 50p which shows her date of birth and death. 

Last year, Beatrix Potter’s The Tale of Peter Rabbit turned 120, and to celebrate the occasion, Royal Mint made a newer Peter Rabbit coin. 

A spokesperson for Royal Mint said: "2016 celebrated the 150th anniversary of the birth of a woman of resilience, creativity, independence and vision.

"A storyteller and illustrator of genius, Beatrix Potter's love of the land and the example of her environmental and cultural responsibility will continue to inspire us for generations to come, and the Peter Rabbit coins have become firm favourites with collectors."