If you are going to a coin dealer, make sure they are a BNTA member and be aware that the deal will be largely down to trust. Perkins pays just under face value for post-1947 silver coins which actually contain no silver – "they are among the most difficult coins to get rid of and I usually try to avoid them" – so people are better off exchanging them at a willing bank. But, as Perkins is only able to collect large amounts of coins from customers in London and the south-east, and advises others to post them via Royal Mail special delivery, you need a substantial amount to make it worth the postage costs. Similarly, the scrap value of pre-decimal "copper" coins (actually bronze containing around 95% copper), which is currently about £4 per kilo, exceeds their face value working out at about four "new" pence per "old" penny. So they are worth selling rather than exchanging for face value at a bank, particularly if you have a few." And the bullion value of pre-1920s silver coins is almost double that because they are sterling silver. Currently a 1920-1946 silver coin is worth around 40 times its face value so I'll pay around £4 for a florin and £5 for a half crown. "I buy them and sell them via the jewellery trade and pay according to the silver price at the time. Pre-1947 silver coins contain real silver and are treated as bullion. But many are still worth more than face value. Members of the British Numismatic Trade Association (BNTA) can be found by visiting: What pre-decimal coins are worth Photograph: GraphicĬoin dealer Chris Perkins, who runs, a member of the BNTA, says: "The vast majority of people who come to me have just got average, used coins, not rare ones. NatWest also exchanges all pre-decimal coins rounding off to the nearest pence, while Barclays will exchange pre-decimal shilling and two shilling (florin) coins.īut it's best to contact a dealer first to see if they will offer more than the face value of the bank – and, crucially, whether there are any pre-1947 coins in your haul. Lloyds TSB, for example, will exchange pre-decimal coins with a minimum total face value of £1 or in multiples of £1.
The coins are then returned to the Royal Mint for melting down.
The first bit of good news is that, though pre-decimal coins are no longer legal tender, some banks will still exchange them for their decimal equivalent face value. "We just want to know if there is a service or bank which gives face value for pre-decimal coins or collects them for their metal content." "After doing a bit of online research, my friend has no expectation that any of her coins are rare," she said. In an age where we are encouraged to recycle, and where thousands of "more mature" people are likely to have old coins gathering dust, what, she asked, can be done with them? A reader recently contacted us after helping an elderly friend declutter her home and coming across a 2kg box of pre-decimal English coins, mostly small denomination coppers and silver coins from the 50s and 60s. Unfortunately, "silver" coins minted after 1947 contain no silver and are worth no more than their face value.
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