hi guys, is was just wondering if my aug 4th 1980 queen elizabeth coin was possible to spend in a shop, it has no face value and the picture is on one side it has the head in the middle and has aload of wavy lines from the head towards the edge. it has queen elizabeth the queen mother aug ust 4th 1980 writtern on iton the other side iselizabeth 11 d.g.reg.f.d would it be possible to walk into my local tesco and use the coin as currency, i think its 25p. i would'nt do it but is it possible. The coins arn't in very good condition so i think there worth about 50p each thanks
im in the u.k this is a link to a picture fo the coin, it isnt a silver one like described but everything else is there http://www.24carat.co.uk/1980crownframe.html
I don't see why you couldn't spend it then. Whether you want to or not is your choice. Is it silver? Are you wanting to get rid of it because it's damaged in some way?
i have a nice set of them already in mint condition and these are bit too worn out and undeserving to go into my collection. i told my nephew he could spend them in the shops (he's only 6 so spending these coins would be a bit special for him). I just dont want to stand there and have a conversation with the teller as he looks at the coins deciding. Are there any english people on the site who know about this coin, i have never bought a coin in this condition so i think id loose about 10p for each coin i let go which is exceptable. if it had a value on the coin it would be fine but because there is no value it makes things difficult
A lot of us here at Coin Talk, myself included, have had interesting experiences spending coins that don't generally circulate. Our dollar coins is the biggest example. I also will often spend half-dollar coins, which are almost never circulated. Also, since the coinage and currency here in the USA hasn't changed for so long, it's entirely possible to spend 100+ year old coins without them looking too much out of place.
The piece you describe is a crown, prior to the 1990's they were issued in a value of 25p. So technically you can spend it for 25p. The problem is that they have been out of circulation and may have been demonetised. This means the Bank, most likely Bank of England will exchange it for value, ie 25p, but you may not be able to spend it at Tesco or Boots the Chemist.
I have to piggy back this one. I was in a local coin shop ( talk abotu misguided adn inbred coins) and this young soldier came in with an older and pretty gray 50 cent piece and a mounted baseball card to sell. Shopkeeper told him the ard wasnt special and the half dolalr was worth 50 cents. Guy asked the shopkeeper for 2 quarters in return for the half dollar and card. And on my trip-> he offered me $23 and change for 5 silver proof sets in original pack. I walked out laughing at that one.
You must remember that in the US at least that no store is under law to take any of your money....some places might tell you they want green backs and not these coins....so just try it....most than likely they will. Speedy
ok thanks for the help guys it is greatly appreciated anyway has anyone ever spent a coin by accident only to realise it was a collectors, or have there been any rumours to this kind. i heard a story about a man using a rare stamp with a fault on it to post a letter, the stamp was worth like 45thouasand gbp and the postman who saw it kept the letter and sold it for about 4 thousand (because it was used) but then he got 6 months jail for mail theft, isnt that a funny story
Out of curiosity I just checked and it seems those 25p crowns are still legal tender. (Now whether stores will accept them is another question indeed.) More info is here: http://www.royalmint.com/RoyalMint/web/site/Corporate/Corp_british_coinage/LegalTenderGuidelines.asp Also see the "Demonetisation" link in the side bar ... Christian
By that measure I should note that it is technically possible to take in a large amount of £SD coinage, ie the pre-decimal coinage and still redeem it, though it would not be numismatically feasible to redeem 240 old pennies for one current £1 coin as the numismatic value of the 240 pence is more.
Crowns are 1/4 of a pound. Pre-decimal that equated to 30 pence; since 1971 they technically have a value of 25 pence, though crowns have not been minted for general circulation since before decimalization, just for commemorative purposes. But you could spend them as 25p as far as I know, they are still considered legal tender. I'm not sure at what point crowns were no longer minted for general circulation, but I haven't found a non-commemorative dated more recently than 1951 (have one personally), though I do have a half crown dated as recently as 1960. Anyone who knows more about Britsih coinage can be more specific I'm sure... but it seems like every crown I've seen minted since 1951 was a pure commemorative and not intended to circulate, though technically legal tender.
