THE new 12-sided £1 coin is here - and experts believe some could be worth as much as £250.

More than 200,000 of the brand new coins were sent out to retailers last year for "testing".

They were classed as "trial coins" only - and are not legitimate tender, however a handful of the new £1 coins wrongly dated '2016' are in circulation - and already being listed on eBay for as much as £250.

And any which feature die errors could also be worth a significant sum.

Alex Cassidy, from GoCompare's Coining It In, believes some of the coins could be classed as a special edition model.

"As with the current £2 coins, the 2017 £1 coin is bi-metallic - in this case an outer 'gold' coloured nickel-brass band with an inner 'silver' coloured cupro-nickel disc," he said.

"Because of this, any potential die errors during production, which occurs when the dies have become misaligned, could be worth a lot of money.

"Punters should pay attention to both the floral crown on the reverse side for any rotations, as well as the Queen's head, which should sit directly above the new bevelled edge."

The first batch of new £1 coins will commemorate the achievements of Jane Austen, Sir Isaac Newton and The Royal Flying Corps.