Removal of 5p and 10p from circulation

[David]

This could be worthy of a mention in "Check your Change." The royal Mint has started taking cupro-nickel 5 and 10 pence pieces out of circulation.

http://www.royalmint.com/discover/uk-coins/cupro-nickel-replacement

which will start to make pre 2012 coins scarcer. In a way it's a shame because pre 2008 coins will disappear with the various busts of the Queen and I bet it won't be long before the copper coins start to go future collectors will only find Ian Rank-Broadley busts of the Queen in pocket change and I still miss the pre-decimal collecting days when you could find Victorian coins and pre-1947 silver coins in your change.

[Rob]

This could be worthy of a mention in "Check your Change." The royal Mint has started taking cupro-nickel 5 and 10 pence pieces out of circulation.

http://www.royalmint.com/discover/uk-coins/cupro-nickel-replacement

which will start to make pre 2012 coins scarcer. In a way it's a shame because pre 2008 coins will disappear with the various busts of the Queen and I bet it won't be long before the copper coins start to go future collectors will only find Ian Rank-Broadley busts of the Queen in pocket change and I still miss the pre-decimal collecting days when you could find Victorian coins and pre-1947 silver coins in your change.

They could do better if they would buy in the mounds of large flan 5ps and 10ps, and 1947-67 'silver' as the extra weight means way more value in scrap vs face and more importantly a huge supply with nowhere to go - not collectable and mostly sitting in boxes/bags. Surely the RM as a government offshoot can see that this should be a no-brainer given the alloy has already been made. Or am I missing something?

[argentumandcoins]

This could be worthy of a mention in "Check your Change." The royal Mint has started taking cupro-nickel 5 and 10 pence pieces out of circulation.

http://www.royalmint.com/discover/uk-coins/cupro-nickel-replacement

which will start to make pre 2012 coins scarcer. In a way it's a shame because pre 2008 coins will disappear with the various busts of the Queen and I bet it won't be long before the copper coins start to go future collectors will only find Ian Rank-Broadley busts of the Queen in pocket change and I still miss the pre-decimal collecting days when you could find Victorian coins and pre-1947 silver coins in your change.

They could do better if they would buy in the mounds of large flan 5ps and 10ps, and 1947-67 'silver' as the extra weight means way more value in scrap vs face and more importantly a huge supply with nowhere to go - not collectable and mostly sitting in boxes/bags. Surely the RM as a government offshoot can see that this should be a no-brainer given the alloy has already been made. Or am I missing something?

Sorry Rob, you are confusing common sense with policy/decision making...fatal!!!

[Rob]

This could be worthy of a mention in "Check your Change." The royal Mint has started taking cupro-nickel 5 and 10 pence pieces out of circulation.

http://www.royalmint.com/discover/uk-coins/cupro-nickel-replacement

which will start to make pre 2012 coins scarcer. In a way it's a shame because pre 2008 coins will disappear with the various busts of the Queen and I bet it won't be long before the copper coins start to go future collectors will only find Ian Rank-Broadley busts of the Queen in pocket change and I still miss the pre-decimal collecting days when you could find Victorian coins and pre-1947 silver coins in your change.

They could do better if they would buy in the mounds of large flan 5ps and 10ps, and 1947-67 'silver' as the extra weight means way more value in scrap vs face and more importantly a huge supply with nowhere to go - not collectable and mostly sitting in boxes/bags. Surely the RM as a government offshoot can see that this should be a no-brainer given the alloy has already been made. Or am I missing something?

Sorry Rob, you are confusing common sense with policy/decision making...fatal!!!

Thanks for clarifying the query John. Silly me.

Just think how many Churchill crowns could be lost in this way. :) :) :)

Edited March 29, 2013 by Rob

[Peckris]

This could be worthy of a mention in "Check your Change." The royal Mint has started taking cupro-nickel 5 and 10 pence pieces out of circulation.

http://www.royalmint.com/discover/uk-coins/cupro-nickel-replacement

which will start to make pre 2012 coins scarcer. In a way it's a shame because pre 2008 coins will disappear with the various busts of the Queen and I bet it won't be long before the copper coins start to go future collectors will only find Ian Rank-Broadley busts of the Queen in pocket change and I still miss the pre-decimal collecting days when you could find Victorian coins and pre-1947 silver coins in your change.

They could do better if they would buy in the mounds of large flan 5ps and 10ps, and 1947-67 'silver' as the extra weight means way more value in scrap vs face and more importantly a huge supply with nowhere to go - not collectable and mostly sitting in boxes/bags. Surely the RM as a government offshoot can see that this should be a no-brainer given the alloy has already been made. Or am I missing something?

Sorry Rob, you are confusing common sense with policy/decision making...fatal!!!

Thanks for clarifying the query John. Silly me.

Just think how many Churchill crowns could be lost in this way. :) :) :)

Brilliant idea - all they need to really do is haunt the salerooms for a while, peer through the low-value lots that are simply vast accumulations, and bingo! In one move they would recover lots of valuable metal, AND make life so much easier for the poor dealers who currently have to take at least a look-see before throwing up their hands in horror.

And it means my Churchill crown could become as scarce as the 1960 crown in, say, a century.

[Peter]

If the Royal mint went to CDESTEVES house job done

[scott]

better start saving these then

Edited March 29, 2013 by scott

[pies]

If the Royal mint went to CDESTEVES house job done

Whose that

[Coinery]

better start saving these then

Man, you've got this coin collecting bug so bad! Is there not a period, country, type, or metal you DON'T collect?

[Gary D]

If the Royal mint went to CDESTEVES house job done

Perhaps if they had an ebay presence they could clear up all the washers on there. Certainly save me the job of endlessly trawling through it.

[Nicholas]

As long as that means my 20p no date increases in value!!

[Peckris]

As long as that means my 20p no date increases in value!!

Talking of 20p - I saw recently that among the early 60s patterns for decimal coins, not only was there a 1/4p, there was a 20p too. Makes you wonder why it didn't make it until 1982 and wasn't introduced in 1971.

[declanwmagee]

As long as that means my 20p no date increases in value!!

Talking of 20p - I saw recently that among the early 60s patterns for decimal coins, not only was there a 1/4p, there was a 20p too. Makes you wonder why it didn't make it until 1982 and wasn't introduced in 1971.

Maybe the experience of the Double Florin was haunting them!

[Peckris]

As long as that means my 20p no date increases in value!!

Talking of 20p - I saw recently that among the early 60s patterns for decimal coins, not only was there a 1/4p, there was a 20p too. Makes you wonder why it didn't make it until 1982 and wasn't introduced in 1971.

Maybe the experience of the Double Florin was haunting them!

Long memories! Mind you, it wasn't exactly as if florins were "that there new fangled thang" anymore.

[Peter]

If the Royal mint went to CDESTEVES house job done

Whose that

One of the biggest junk sellers on Ebay.

[declanwmagee]

As long as that means my 20p no date increases in value!!

Talking of 20p - I saw recently that among the early 60s patterns for decimal coins, not only was there a 1/4p, there was a 20p too. Makes you wonder why it didn't make it until 1982 and wasn't introduced in 1971.

Maybe the experience of the Double Florin was haunting them!

Long memories! Mind you, it wasn't exactly as if florins were "that there new fangled thang" anymore.

I sometimes like to hold a Double Florin in one hand and a 20p in the other just to remind myself that they are the same denomination.

[Peckris]

As long as that means my 20p no date increases in value!!

Talking of 20p - I saw recently that among the early 60s patterns for decimal coins, not only was there a 1/4p, there was a 20p too. Makes you wonder why it didn't make it until 1982 and wasn't introduced in 1971.

Maybe the experience of the Double Florin was haunting them!

Long memories! Mind you, it wasn't exactly as if florins were "that there new fangled thang" anymore.

I sometimes like to hold a Double Florin in one hand and a 20p in the other just to remind myself that they are the same denomination.

Yes - not quite a sov versus brass £1 comparison is it?

[pies]

As long as that means my 20p no date increases in value!!

Talking of 20p - I saw recently that among the early 60s patterns for decimal coins, not only was there a 1/4p, there was a 20p too. Makes you wonder why it didn't make it until 1982 and wasn't introduced in 1971.

Maybe the experience of the Double Florin was haunting them!

Long memories! Mind you, it wasn't exactly as if florins were "that there new fangled thang" anymore.

I sometimes like to hold a Double Florin in one hand and a 20p in the other just to remind myself that they are the same denomination.

Yes - not quite a sov versus brass £1 comparison is it?

Err wabn't a double florin worth 24p

[Rob]

Err wabn't a double florin worth 24p

No. It was worth 48d (4 shillings). A florin was a tenth of a pound (24d) or two shillings. Bring forth the abacus and you can deduce that a double florin was 48d or 4/-.

[pies]

I kew that why did i say 24 when i meant 48 must be the wine

[DaveG38]

As long as that means my 20p no date increases in value!!

Talking of 20p - I saw recently that among the early 60s patterns for decimal coins, not only was there a 1/4p, there was a 20p too. Makes you wonder why it didn't make it until 1982 and wasn't introduced in 1971.

Maybe the experience of the Double Florin was haunting them!

Long memories! Mind you, it wasn't exactly as if florins were "that there new fangled thang" anymore.

I sometimes like to hold a Double Florin in one hand and a 20p in the other just to remind myself that they are the same denomination.

Yes - not quite a sov versus brass £1 comparison is it?

Err wabn't a double florin worth 24p

A modern 20p piece is one fifth of a pound, as is a double florin. A florin was a two shilling piece and worth 24 old pence and a double florin, therefore, was worth 48 old pence. Simples!!

[Rob]

I kew that why did i say 24 when i meant 48 must be the wine

You can miss the k out and claim ignorance, but to miss the n and leave the k makes you a look a bit arborial.

[declanwmagee]

A modern 20p piece is one fifth of a pound, as is a double florin. A florin was a two shilling piece and worth 24 old pence and a double florin, therefore, was worth 48 old pence. Simples!!

Indeed. The Pound stayed the same. The d and the p did not.

Edited March 31, 2013 by declanwmagee

[Peckris]

A modern 20p piece is one fifth of a pound, as is a double florin. A florin was a two shilling piece and worth 24 old pence and a double florin, therefore, was worth 48 old pence. Simples!!

Indeed. The Pound stayed the same. The d and the p did not.

Considering the "d" stood for denarius, what would we say was the predecimal and decimal equivalent? Although nowhere the same buying power, I nominate the silver shilling for the former (though on size alone, the sixpence gets it). As for decimal, there seems to be no suitable denomination that shouts out "I'm a denarius!". Perhaps the 50p, in its dreams?

[Sylvester]

I first heard about this recovery programme at the end of last year. I must say that I view it with no great surprise and a little disdain at the same time. I mean it's a sensible move and it turns a tidy little profit no doubt (although I like the mention of all the old 5p and 10p coins getting the melting pot treatment too, that would be a great idea, surprised they haven't thought of that one).

However, it really does show the depths the currency has plunged to. First in the 1920s the sterling silver was hoarded up shortly after it was oused by the .500 silver. One article I read from the 1930s said by 1932 there was hardly any pre-1920 silver left to be found (I wish I could relocate that article). Then in 1947 the .500 went out and cupronickel came in. The last vestiges of silver vanishing in the late 60s/70s silver price rises. Then in the early 1990s the coins had to be reduced in size to make sure they wouldn't exceed their face value. Now they've been switched to nickel-plated steel, and the cupro-nickel coins are being removed in advance before they exceed their face value. The question this raises is, what next? How long until the humble 5p falls in value so that even nickel-plated steel starts edging over face? Plastic?

1920-1946 = 26 years (although war helped massively to oust silver in the UK earlier than it did elsewhere).

They could theoretically have lasted to 1967 like other parts of the world, if so then this would have = 47 years.

1947-1992 = 45 years (from 1967 this would be just 25 years to the end of the old 10p the last with pre-decimal equivalent coin to switch)

1992-2011 = 19 years (although some of the 2011s appear to be steel)

The time period between changing compositions getting shorter, or what?