Are £20 Coins Legal Tender?

Since they were first introduced in 2013, there has been some confusion over whether the first £20 coin to be released in the UK is legal tender. The simple answer is “Yes it is!”, but we wanted to give you a little more detail than that!

What Does Legal Tender Mean?

The term ‘legal tender’ refers to any coin, note or object that can be used to settle a debt. If you pay a debt using legal tender you cannot be sued for non-payment.

Coins in the UK are regulated by the Coinage Act of 1971. One of the items within the regulations states that the following coins and denominations shall be legal tender:

  • Coins made from silver or cupro-nickel of a denomination of  more than 10 pence,  for payment of any amount not exceeding £10.
  • Coins made from silver or cupro-nickel of a denomination of not more than 10 pence, for payment of any amount not exceeding £5.
  • Coins made from bronze, for payment of any amount not exceeding 20 pence.

So this means that a shop is not legally required to accept more than 20 pence in copper coins – although most will be willing to do so to be courteous.

But Wait…There’s No Mention Of The £20 Coin Being Legal Tender

There is also no mention of the £5 coin being legal tender. That is because both of these coins were released after the Coinage Act of 1971 was formulated.

This meant that the £20 coin and £5 received some very special attention in order to be recognised as legal tender.

Here is a breakdown on the Royal Mint’s legal tender guidelines:

£20 – for any amount

£5 (Crown) – for any amount

£2 – for any amount

£1 – for any amount

50p – for any amount not exceeding £10

25p (Crown) – for any amount not exceeding £10

20p – for any amount not exceeding £10

10p – for any amount not exceeding £5

5p – for any amount not exceeding £5

2p – for any amount not exceeding 20p

1p – for any amount not exceeding 20p

The Royal Proclamation

Any coin to be legal tender that is not included in the Coinage Act of 1971 needs to be issued with a Royal Proclamation from the Queen. Thanks to Queen Elizabeth being advised by her Privy Council to issue a proclamation, we are now able to use £20 and £5 coins as we would any other legal tender.

Hurray! So I Can Spend Them In The Shops Then?

Ah, don’t go rushing down to the corner shop with your big shiny coin just yet. Whilst the £20 has been deemed legal tender it has not yet been designed to be a circulating coin. That means you can still use it to settle a debt in court, but you will probably find that your corner shop or your bank will not accept a £20 coin in exchange for goods or services.

We Can Exchange Your Commemorative Coins!

The great thing about Cash4Coins is that we can exchange all of your legal tender coins whether they are in circulation or not. It’s quick easy and convenient to exchange commemorative coins with us and we will give you a quick valuation to consider at your leisure. Then, if you accept we will deposit the payment for your coins into your nominated bank account ready to spend on whatever you like!

Send your coins to us now

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