Archive for May, 2014

Pimp My Pound! Royal Mint Gives £1 Coin A Modern Twist And Robust Security

Posted on: May 30th, 2014 by Ian Stormnet

The £1 coin as we know it is soon to be given a facelift, according to the Royal Mint. This summer, a public consultation will take place before the final decision is made on specific factors such as the shape of the new coin and even the metal it is made from.

The new £1 coin isn’t just undergoing a visual makeover. There are some high tech talks going on behind closed doors regarding the security of the new coin. The Royal Mint has been working hard to develop a coin security system that will make counterfeiting the new coin much harder and that will help to secure the new coins as they circulate around the world.

Fancy Yourself A Coin Designer?

Of course, there are only certain aspects of the design that can be changed. The size needs to largely stay to same so that the coin can fit into parking meters, slot machines and the good old shopping trolley. The Queen’s head also needs to be featured, but if you want to try your hand at designing a new ‘tails’ side of the coin, a public design competition will be launched soon and we’ll be bringing you news of that and also news of the introduction of the coin, expected to be in 2017.

The design proposed for the new £1 coin is going to be distinctly British. Featuring twelve sides, the coin will bring back memories of the threepence piece that was legal tender before decimalisation.

Stopping Forgers In Their Tracks

The coin will be made from two different coloured metals and contain new security features that will make it harder for forgeries to be made. The iSIS security feature is a revolutionary new coin security system developed at the Royal Mint.

The Integrated Secure Identification Systems (iSIS) has been designed to make the entire cash cycle more secure. The aim of the system is to protect retailers, the public, the banking system, vending machine operators and the coins themselves. We will bring you more information about iSIS in a later post as it really makes for interesting reading.

George Osborne, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, said, “After thirty years loyal service, the time is right to retire the current £1 coin, and replace it with the most secure coin in the world. With advances in technology making high value coins like the £1 ever more vulnerable to counterfeiters, it’s vital that we keep several paces ahead of the criminals to maintain the integrity of our currency. I am particularly pleased that the coin will take a giant leap into the future, using cutting edge British technology while at the same time, paying tribute to the past in the 12-sided design of the iconic threepenny bit.”

Exchange Your Old Fashioned Currency Here!

With the new polymer bank notes and the new security for the £1 coin, it’s only a matter of time before our old less secure coins go out of circulation, and when they do you can be sure Cash4Coins will be here to exchange them for you. We offer foreign currency exchange services for all coins that are no longer legal tender no matter what their country of origin.

 

Are £20 Coins Legal Tender?

Posted on: May 19th, 2014 by Ian Stormnet

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!