Today i acquired a few foreign coins and currency, i know nothing about coins other than U.S. coins. I think what i have here is British but really have no idea? I was wondering if in fact they are British and if they have any value? I also would like to know how much face value the half crowns are just curious? Are they like a U.S. half dollar or quarter what is there purchasing power where they come from?
No offense but I would like to know a little more about them before i get into selling them. I dont even know what a fair offer on these coins would be like i said ive never seen or dealt with British coins before. I will not forget about your offer and when im satisfied that i know enough about these to start taking offers you will be the first to know.
In the pre-decimal British currency setup, 1 pound sterling (£) was 20 shillings, and each shilling was 12 pence. The half crown was 2 1/2 shillings and thus one eighth of a pound. In today's currency (the pound stayed the same) that would be 12.5 pence. Now if we take the purchasing power into account ... Somewhere I read that what a half crown would buy shortly before 1970 (when they were demonetized) would be £3 or so today. Christian
If they came into my possession in the UK the penny would go into the scrap copper box and the 4 Halfcrowns would be exchanged at the bank for £0.50 $0.80.
Yes, Shillings, Florins,Halfcrowns in pairs, 5 Shilling Crowns, Ten Shilling Notes and £1 notes are all exchangable at face value at some banks and major post offices. I scrap the coppers and the brass Threepences and obviously any silver content goes for melt.
Cool thanks for the info. I sold some face value modern British coins as legal tender once and was told that the older ones and those multi-sided 50 pence coins are no longer exchangeable. Glad to know that's not the case.
I have a buyer from the US who pays me with large Fifty Pence coins, and £1 coins & notes, he obtains from junk bins in US coin shops He just recently sent me £25 in coinage in exchange for some US coins. I think the little amount he pays for them even covers the cost of the shipping such a heavy amount. When I get enough gathered I just exchange them for cash.
What you have there is a Victorian old penny, three Elizabeth II, and one George VI half-crown. The pennies are still quite common (you can pick up a good one for about 50p at a flea market), but i've not seen many half-crowns (somewhere i've got a silver one from the reign of Edward VII) Here's how the old system worked: 2 farthings = 1 half-penny 2 half-pennies = 1 penny Half-groat = 2 pennies Groat = 4 pennies 12 pennies = 1 shilling. Three, four, and six penny pieces were made of silver. 2 shillings = 1 florin 5 shillings = 1 crown 4 crowns or 10 florins = one sovereign (pound). This replaced the older guinea in 1816 When decimalisation was introduced in 1971, old pennies were exchanged for the new. One new penny was worth 2 and a half old pennies (which is why we had a decimalised half-penny until 1984). A 5 pence piece was worth 1 shilling and a 10 pence piece was worth 1 florin
