larger decimal coins

Post by **teenoes** » Mon Nov 17, 2008 5:08 pm

as I recently got quite a big hand full of the older 50, 10 and 5p coins I just would like to know whether these are still legal tender and whether these are exchangeable somewhere
I read that the old 1/2p coins have been demonitised but cannot find any reference for the above mentioned ones

thanks

Post by **alanworland** » Mon Nov 17, 2008 5:27 pm

Not sure about 5p (shillng?) and 10p (two bob?) but the large 50p's seem ok, I had a couple the other week and used them with no probs.

Post by **Matt** » Mon Nov 17, 2008 9:43 pm

take them to the bank and see what they say

Post by **DAVIDMCCULLOUGH** » Mon Nov 17, 2008 9:56 pm

I stopped working in the bank 7 years ago, and even then they had stopped accepting the old 50p unless you had a full bag £10 worth that could be sent back to cash centre.

Post by **d_harris** » Wed Nov 19, 2008 10:25 pm

Unfortunatly none of them are legal tender anymore and you would be hard pressed to find a bank that will take them.

Post by **teenoes** » Wed Dec 10, 2008 9:36 am

Thanks for all your replies,

taking to bank - yes thought about that, but as banks around here are not dealing with british coins it is kind of a prob.
Just spending - I think that is the way to go - as I do not have my hands on a time machine yet

Do you also face the problem of She/He-has-an-old-car-so we-offer-her/him-all-the-old-stuff-that-is-no-longer-needed sometimes and end up with massive amounts of everything from furniture to - well - coins of all shades of deterioration - and I am not saying that I do not like it ;-)

Post by **luridhue** » Wed Dec 10, 2008 12:12 pm

teenoes wrote:Do you also face the problem of She/He-has-an-old-car-so we-offer-her/him-all-the-old-stuff-that-is-no-longer-needed sometimes and end up with massive amounts of everything from furniture to - well - coins of all shades of deterioration - and I am not saying that I do not like it ;-)

I think for me it is my personality and magpie nature. All the family know I love old things (things with character) and rarely buy brand new furniture/clothes/items (generally opting for older tattier things that I can 'bring up to code') so I also get the bags of 'junk'. The OH fears it when we go to see my family and end up coming back with a car full of stuff

Dan_Harris is right in that they are no longer Legal Tender but that does not mean they hold no monetary value and people will not accept them. (Legal Tender being payment that cannot be refused to pay off a debt. For instance Scottish banknotes are not Legal Tender anywhere in the UK and English banknotes are only Legal Tender in England and Wales. If you owe someone a debt then they can refuse to accept payment that is not Legal Tender but cannot refuse Legal Tender, if you are paying for something in a shop though they do not have to accept Legal Tender (ie can refuse to accept a £50 note for a packet of crisps. If you are in a restaurant though and pay for your meal afterwards they are legally required to accept Legal Tender (so even if you only have a coffee you can opt to pay with a £50 note))).

It means that the older coins are on a similar band to Scottish banknotes, they can be accepted but no-one is under any obligation to accept them. (apologies that my posts always seem to be long winded and rather boring, lol)

Post by **ASL642** » Wed Dec 10, 2008 4:13 pm

You may find someone on the Internet that "deals" in old coins. If they are in a very good condition/rare year or just happen to be the last minted. Its amazing just what people do collect. Trips round Antique and Collector's fairs show this.

Post by **Judge** » Wed Dec 10, 2008 4:25 pm

Some people even collect Morris Minors would you believe

Post by **dalebrignall** » Wed Dec 10, 2008 5:49 pm

if youm take them to the bank of england in threadneedle street i think they will exchange them.they do bank notes ,i would have thaught they would do coins as well.

Post by **bmcecosse** » Wed Dec 10, 2008 8:35 pm

Don't worry about it - if 'Mandy' has his way - we'll be using Euros in a few months time ! And all our coins will be worthless - except for 1p pieces of course - for SU carbs with the thermostatic jet - when you want to get rid of it!

Post by **teenoes** » Wed Dec 10, 2008 9:05 pm

thanks for that input Lou and Dale

I did check the bank of england idea via the web before starting this thread and their site says they are only responsible for notes and you can change every note they issued from the middle ages until today for current notes

well I guess for really old ones you would get more in the collector scene and why change actual ones for actual ones

for coins it is the royal mint and they are pointing in the direction of coinage collectors
but as I wrote above they are not writing that the larger coins have been demonitised as are the old half penny coins

and for what people are collecting: I make quite a handful of money every year at our local fleamarket by selling folding rules we used to get as advertising gifts
some people buy sort of 20 in one go as long as they have different company names printed on