Demonetising coins. Sell of save?

The Royal Mint will stop making the current £1 coins this year with the new design due out early 2017, shortly after they will demonetise the current designs. I have a set of all circulated UK £1 coins that are worth £1 each - maybe a tad more to a collector who wants a specific coin. As there are so many millions of each design, none are likely to raise to a value worth having in my lifetime - so do I spend them and release their value or keep them in an album with their worth likely scrap value only?

When the UK demonetised after decimalisation, there are bucket loads of coppers and the cheap cupro nickel 'silver' coins.

I think I have decided to trade them for an older coin that someone braver than I decided not to spend hundreds of years ago. I guess it all depends on what money is worth to you!

What would you do if your central mint decided to bin certain or all coins?

 

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IMO, if they have no collector value, cash them in at a bank.

 

If you think you can buy something "better" with that money, then do that. In general, a complete collection is worth more than a few pieces. But as you said, we're not talking about a high value here anyway.

Christian

 

That would be the beginning of the appropriate time to start keeping them.

To address your specific situation, though, I believe I'd be looking to take advantage of that "previous person's" thoughtful prior planning.

 

I think this is a great question!

So if the U.S. demonetized...quarters...I would have to get one...maybe my birth year in the highest grade I could afford.

I think our collections should be of coins that are important to us and if the demonitization of pound coins makes your collection less interesting to you then go out and get that old coin!

 

Whilst not a major issue for me, thought it was an interesting thought. Where would we be if everyone cashed in coins that were going out of use?

 

I have 10 £ or so of circulated coins... Unless I find someone traveling to Europe, I guess they're going to be wasted. Thanks for the heads up, though.

 

Depends on whether or not "we" were smart enough to hold when nobody else was.

 

Many do that, especially when the period for turning the "old cash" in is relatively short. Now if that redemption period is ten or twenty years, or unlimited, quite a few may think "oh, I can still do that later" - and then forget about it.

Here in Germany for example we do know that more than 50% of the pre-euro coins have not been cashed in. Since you can do that "forever", there is no hurry - but the figure also means that almost half of the coins were redeemed and then became scrap metal ...

Christian

 

If the coins are circulated and common varieties then spend them. They won't be worth a pound again in the lifetime of anyone here probably.

I'd sure save Uncs, especially those that are a few years old.

 

When Britain demonetizes coins they can still be redeemed later on. In fact all Bank of England banknotes can be redeemed from 1694-current. Coins can be redeemed back to 1816.

That said I have some £95 in predecimal coin, halfpennies and pennies but on up to halfcrowns and crowns. It will never be redeemed. Most of the threenubs, tanners, bobs etc are at least 50% silver, but usually sterling as it was what I preferred to buy when silver was low, like $6 an ounce.

 

The odd thing is that the Bank of England will not do that - bank notes yes, coins no. Now the Royal Mint appears to be unwilling. So where would one get current coins for old ones?

Christian

 

@chrisild and @tulipone ... just to clarify... if I have decimal British coins (pence, pounds, etc.) and a bunch of Euros, do I need to have them spent before Dec 31st, 2016?

 

Euros will continue whatever.

British £1 coins (only right now) will be replaced by a new design £1 coin as there is a large number of fakes. They are intended to be phased out after spring 2017. No other coins are affected right now. Actually the demonetisation was news to me when we made a visit to the Royal Mint.

We already have a new polymer £5 note and they are starting to replace the older £5 note.

 

The Royal Mint got particularly snarky over the £20 and £100 coins that they sold at face value, people were buying them up to get credit card points then trying to turn the coins into the bank for redemption. The RM took them at first then put the brakes on the operation. But predecimal coins are redeemable, with a lot of paperwork and waiting. Unless you have a large amount of say cupronickel halfcrowns or something it is not worth the trouble though as sterling has decreased considerably in value since the £SD days.

Bank of England and the Royal Mint are both Crown Corporations, the former was a publicly held company until it was nationalised in 1946 whilst the latter has always been a Crown corporation.

 

Ok, I misread the original post. It's not Dec 31st, it's Spring 2017. And it is JUST the £1 coins. Thanks.

 

Thanks for the information. Hmm, as for that program, didn't the US Mint have a similar one for the $1 "circulation" coins? One that did not work because people ordered the coins, got points, miles, etc., and then took the coins to the banks? I wonder who did not learn from whom here.

Christian

 

Surprisingly it wasn't the US mint with that stupid plan, it was the RCM - Royal Canadian Mint and $20 coins. The presidential bucks were indeed sold in quantity, but always a surcharge over the face value so it really was aimed at people looking to find perfect coins to send for TPG's. In the US there was no benefit for credit card miles etc if you purchased the coins because the surcharge usually outweighed the miles.

 

I think this says it all. What do you want to do? Do you value your collection or do you want to part with it? As you said, they will likely not be worth much in your lifetime. And since they're changing designs, others will likely also hoard them with the (often, but not always, misguided) idea that they will become "rare" since they will no longer be minted. In such cases, some people put away specimens in the hope of future profits. The same goes for first year issues. At least for US coins, this probably accounts for the huge number of 1909 and 1909 VDB Lincoln cents available in succulent and very affordable condition even today (the S mints of the same year are another story, of course). In the end, and barring unpredictable circumstances, nothing that was minted today in the millions or billions will likely have any value for at least a number of generations. But if you enjoy them, keep them.

 

I was unaware that the US had actually demonitised coins and thought that they all remained in currency. Obviously those with a bullion or other numismatic value would decrease over time or be withdrawn through wear.

I didn't collect coins as a kid so have just been picking up what interested me and the variations of £1 were free to save. As it happens I also have the US 25c varieties. If the quarters were demonitised I think I'd keep them as they have an exotic appeal that your own currency doesn't.

I wonder how many of you all collect current coins from circulation?