Do banks still accept the old £1 coins?

[BrandanM]

Hi all.

Whilst implementing a thorough tidy-up at home yesterday a number of the old style, round, £1 coins were revealed.

Do any of you knowledgeable folks know if it's still possible to exchange/deposit these with the high street banks?.

Thank You in anticipation.

 

[Mcr Warrior]

You can still pay them into a bank account at any Post Office counter, I believe.

(N.B. They don't exchange the coins as such, they'll just credit your account. You'll almost certainly need your bank card with you to be able to do this).

 

[pdeaves]

The Bank of England will still accept them, I believe. Whether it is worth taking them is a different matter!

 

[Gloster]

I asked this very question of my local bank a few days ago as I am still finding money amongst the rubbish, sorry, bits and pieces on the floor at my old house. However, it is a branch that I regularly use.

 

[BrandanM]

The Bank of England will still accept them, I believe. Whether it is worth taking them is a different matter!

No, the coins wouldn't even cover the cost of a railcard discounted off-peak day return travelcard!

I'll call into the Post Office/Bank in the week and see what they say.

Ta for replies.

 

[PaulJ]

The bank that I worked for until a year ago was still accepting sixpence and ha'pennies!

 

[AM9]

The bank that I worked for until a year ago was still accepting sixpence and ha'pennies!

Probably hoping for a few rare ones for their troubles.

 

[Trackman]

The bank that I worked for until a year ago was still accepting sixpence and ha'pennies!

Ah, the sixpence, the old 2 1/2p I think that escaped the coin cull of decimal day for about 5 years I think.

 

[Gloster]

Ah, the sixpence, the old 2 1/2p I think that escaped the coin cull of decimal day for about 5 years I think.

Until 30 June 1980, so over nine years. (Source: Wikipedia.)

 

[Mcr Warrior]

Until 30 June 1980, so over nine years. (Source: Wikipedia.)

Read somewhere that the old sixpence (6d) coins were retained for an extended period because they were needed when paying for short distance fares using ticket machines on the London Underground (and also when paying for most single fares on London buses).

 

[Busaholic]

Read somewhere that the old sixpence (6d) coins were retained for an extended period because they were needed when paying for short distance fares using ticket machines on the London Underground (and also when paying for most single fares on London buses).

Almost right! They were retained at the request of London Transport in order that their 6d automatic machines on the flat fare Red Arrow central London routes still functioned. The campaign for retention was led by the Evening Standard newspaper, aided and abetted (off the record) by L.T.'s bus operating department I worked for at the time.Happy days!

 

[Mcr Warrior]

@BrandanM. How did you get on with your quest to get some value for your old £1 coins?

 

[Thirteen]

I've always found it strange that people think old notes can be accepted in shops, I am more understanding of tourists but not people who live and work in the UK.

 

[Mcr Warrior]

I've always found it strange that people think old notes can be accepted in shops, I am more understanding of tourists but not people who live and work in the UK.

Shops could always accept old paper £20/£50 banknotes if they really wanted to so, they'll then just get paid in with their other cash takings.

However, they are under absolutely no obligation to accept them after the 30 September 2022 deadline.

 

[AM9]

Shops could always accept old paper £20/£50 banknotes if they really wanted to so, they'll then just get paid in with their other cash takings.

However, they are under absolutely no obligation to accept them after the 30 September 2022 deadline.

The problem is that the more different types that they need to accept, the more difficult it is to detect forged notes, which they would lose the face value of.

 

[Mcr Warrior]

The problem is that the more different types that they need to accept, the more difficult it is to detect forged notes, which they would lose the face value of.

Indeed. Which is one of the key reasons why the old £20 / £50 paper bank notes have now been / are being phased out.

 

[zero]

The BOE will not accept any old coins, they take old BOE notes only. Commercial banks are the only way to get the value from old coins.

Most banks will take old £1 coins, even in large amounts. Coin dealers from mainland Europe and the US frequently come to the UK and deposit thousands at a time. Given that 3% of them were apparently fakes and this was the reason for the replacement, I am surprised that banks don't check the coins, they just weigh them as they used to when they were current.

 

[BrandanM]

@BrandanM. How did you get on with your quest to get some value for your old £1 coins?

I had a day off work to visit IWM Duxford today (thoroughly recommend if anyone is considering going BTW), so I haven't tried yet, but I'm brimming with confidence now.

I'll report back in due course.

 

[busestrains]

If you live near one of the very few railway stations that still has a working PERTIS (Permit To Travel) machine then you can still use them there too. So that is a useful way to get rid of them. Although there are only a few working ones left.

 

[zero]

Old £1 UK coins would still work in machines in Gibraltar and the Isle of Man because the local coin still has the same specifications.

I don't know if there are any machines on St Helena or the Falklands... Not do I know if they still use their round £1s.

 

[BrandanM]

@BrandanM. How did you get on with your quest to get some value for your old £1 coins?

Success!. They just exchanged the old coins for up to date currency.

Now I wonder what's down the back of the sofa...

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 4 Oct 2022 ==

They just exchanged the old coins for up to date currency.

Should just add, that was at the bank which I am a customer of and not the Post Office.