Joel Kandiah, a coin expert who goes by The History of Money on TikTok, was at the service station this week buying a chicken and vegetable pie and a bottle of water.

He paid for his items with cash and suddenly found himself holding about $60 in change thanks to a rare coin he was given from the register.

The coin in question was a limited release 2013 $2, minted to commemorate the 60th anniversary of Queen Elizabeth II’s coronation.

The striking coin features an image of St Edward’s Crown surrounded by a band of purple stripes and reads: “EIIR [Elizabeth II Regina] coronation – 60 years”.

“Nothing could beat the feeling,” Mr Kandiah said of his lucky change.

“I bought a couple of things from the servo and I used cash to pay the bill. When I got my change back I could not believe what was in front of me,” he explained.

“With a mintage of just below 1 million, these coins are extremely rare and it can fetch you between $40 and $110 each depending on the condition.”

Mr Kandiah estimated the coin he was given was worth about $50 — several times more than what he paid for his meat pie and drink.

The coin collector said his find was a reminder to Aussies to keep using cash and hopefully come across rare and valuable coins in the wild.

He said the most valuable coin he’d found in his change was a $1 coin from 2000 with a printing error left it with a double rim on the heads side of the coin. It was worth between $350 and $4000 depending on condition, he said.

But it had been more than 10 years since he had found a rare coin in his change, Mr Kandiah said, blaming the deficiency on fewer coins in circulation.

Cash transactions fell by about 70 per cent in Australia between 2007 and 2022, according to the Reserve Bank of Australia. Now, just 13 per cent of all transactions involve cash.

“The coins and the banknotes that we have, now last a lot longer than they used to,” Mr Kandiah said.

“If there’s less cash turning over, then the ability for someone to find a rare coin becomes a lot harder.”