Rare Manx coins estimated to be worth up to £3,000 in total are up for auction online.

Staffordshire-based Richard Winterton Auctioneers is holding an online live-auction, featuring 50 pence coins from Pobjoy Mint.

There are more than 100 of the limited edition 50 pences dating from 1980 to 2012, including coloured and plain coins with some sterling silver proofs.

There is also a mixture of the old-style large 50p and the smaller shape currently in circulation.

Some are boxed or mounted in Christmas cards reflecting the festive subject of the commemorative coin it contains.

The auctioneers said there is a very rare, coloured diamond finish Pobjoy Isle of Man 50p ’Twelve Days of Christmas’ coin, mounted on an angel card as a Christmas tree decoration.

Depicting the six geese a-laying, the 2010 coin is still legal tender on the island but could still fetch between £300-£400 at auction.

Also of interest is the 2003 Isle of Man Pobjoy Christmas diamond finish 50p of Raymond Briggs’ Snowman and James - the sale includes a pair, one coloured and one plain diamond finish, both on card with certificates of authenticity.

Numismatics specialist Phil Bridge said: ’It is so unusual to have such a large amount of Isle of Man coins and it is really quite amazing to have them all in one go. The Christmas decoration coin is such a clever idea but it doesn’t seem to be one which caught on and as such they are a real scarcity.

’With the Snowman coins, the coloured series were taken from an already small circulation of 30,000 plain Snowman coins - and of that 30,000 only a certain amount were taken to one side to be enhanced with colour, possibly just a quarter. It’s not until you go through the collection you realise what special coins it contains. This is a tremendous opportunity for UK coin collectors.’

The sale also includes a Gibraltar Christmas 50p and a number of UK executive proof sets dating from the 2000s.

The auction will be held live from Fradley Park on Monday, February 22, starting at 9.30am online: www.richardwinterton.co.uk.