A SALON owner had the surprise of her life when she found a rare faulty £2 coin.

As Carolyne Dixon, owner of Aura Hair and Beauty told stylist Chantelle Mcleod, 19, to take some money out her purse to pay for lunch she did not expect to be end up £300 better off.

Ms Mcleod was told not to spend the £2 coins as the 47-year-old Colne salon owner liked to collect them, but while rifling through the change one caught her eye.

On closer inspection she realised the writing along the side of the coin was upside down and the Queen's head listed to the left.

A quick check on the internet revealed similar coins selling for between £250 and £400.

Ms McLeod said: "We spent about 30 seconds trying to see if it was fake.

"I was biting it, scratching it and trying to pop the middle out because it didn't look real.

Ms Dixon said: "You hear about these things but you never expect to actually find one, especially when you aren't even looking."

On discovering the potential value of the coin the entire salon was overcome with excitement, but Ms Dixon kept a cool head and took the coin straight home to keep it safe.

Ms Dixon said: "I'm just going to stash it somewhere safe and see if it's actually worth anything.

"With any luck it will go up in value over time so it will really be worth something.

"If it does go up in value I'll definitely look after Chantelle, she found and checked it on the internet."

Assistant curator at the Royal Mint Museum, Chris Barker, said the coin had more value because it was faulty.

He said: "Because of the way we print coins, if the writing is upside down in relation to the portrait that is not an error.

"However, if the portrait is twisted that could be an error."

Addressing people wanting to buy rare coins online, Mr Barker added: "It is always best to approach these findings with caution though, unfortunately not every faulty coin is genuine.

"I have seen people do all kinds of weird and wonderful things to coins to create the impression that it is a valuable rarity."

The Royal Mint offer a free authentication service, to find out more visit www.royalmint.com