Hey all, I was wondering a few things: 1) do they still mint the 1 pence piece? 2) how about the 50 pence? 3) and in what year did the 50 pence piece change it's size? Any silver coinage that can still be found in circulation? thanks
Don't think there are any silver or gold coins in circulation in the UK. The precious metal coins that the Royal Mints makes could, in theory, be used for payments. But a coin that can only be bought at a price above its face value will not really circulate. A little strange, by the way, that the 5p, 10p and 50p denominations are all smaller now while the 2p coin is still a "giant". Even with the recent design change, that piece remained untouched so to say. I wonder whether that means it will simply be phased out at some point ... Christian
Well ya wouldn't think they really circulate in the US either, but roll searchers sure find a lot of them on a regular basis. So I figure it's much the same in the UK as well.
But the US phased out silver coinage much later, and never underwent a major denominational shift. Some older coins still find their way into the tills, but that's generally only because they share a similar shape and color with the old ones (ie, farthings for pence or a shilling for tenpence). So essentially, its still possible. But finding ANYTHING older than 1967 in Britain is about as common as finding any silver in the US, making finding old British silver in circ extremely uncommon.
Aside from this site to get questions answered, get a copy of Krause Publications Standard Catalog of World Coins, I have the 1801-1900 and 1901-2000 editions. Very helpful.
For British coins, its well worth investing in a copy of Spinks Coins of England & the United Kingdom. It covers everything from the native Celtic coinages of the 1st century BC to the newest mint commemoratives.
No, you can't find any silver "in change" in the UK any more. The last chance was in 1993, when the old florins (two shillings) were demonitised (the shilling was demonitised in 1990). Then, you could (in theory) find coins back to 1816. In practice, I only ever found two shillings and one florin in change (all in the late 80's, and all were George VI coins). I have found more silver here in the US, and of course, as dimes/quarters/halves have remained the same size and have not been demonitised, it's possible to find them in change - but more likely in rolls - especially halves).
The oldest coin you will find in circulation in the UK is a 1971 1p or 2p piece. They are worth more than their face value in copper, so I suppose they may be worth holding back as 'bullion' until you have enough of them to scrap (although this might be slightly illegal)...
