Loose Change

yerself · 12-05-2006, 10:12

You know that whisky bottle or Cadbury's roses jar you throw all your loose change in, well get it emptied over the living-room carpet and scrabble through the 2p pieces.

2p coins now worth 3p
Britain's 2p coins are now actually worth 3p - thanks to the soaring price of copper.
Any 2p coins made before 1992 are now more valuable as scrap metal than loose change.
Earlier 2p coins contain 97% copper which has hit an all-time record price of $8,000 a tonne.
It means that 145,000 2p coins would be worth £2,900 at the bank - but about £4,400 as scrap.
One penny coins from the same period are also worth roughly 50% more than their face value.
in 1992, the Royal Mint introduced new 1p and 2p coins made of steel with just a thin copper plating.

From: www.ananova.co.uk

jambutty · 12-05-2006, 12:34

The problem is that defacing or melting coins of the realm is an offence.

grannyclaret · 12-05-2006, 15:38

I havent any 2 p's,,,,,,,,,but yerself can you tell me if £2 coins with the younger queen wearing a necklace is more valuable than the currant older looking queen...i have a few of those ??????????????/

SPUGGIE J · 12-05-2006, 18:51

Quote:

Originally Posted by jambutty

The problem is that defacing or melting coins of the realm is an offence.

Well my daughter is heading for the clink as every tourist attraction that turns coins into "momento's" she has to have one. Added to which its 50p a pop.

talentedbutslow · 12-05-2006, 19:14

Got a couple of farthings tucked away somewhere........might be worth a penny by now.....

Neil · 12-05-2006, 19:40

I found 2 1p's and 4 2p's dated before 1990 - where can I weigh them in please near Oswaldtwistle?

cashman · 12-05-2006, 20:24

Quote:

Originally Posted by jambutty

The problem is that defacing or melting coins of the realm is an offence.

interesting that one jambutty, blythes chemicals used to get millions of old pennies etc as scrap copper,so how does that stand? we used to look through em for a 1933 penny,never found one lol, would that be cos they were no longer legal tender?

jambutty · 13-05-2006, 12:00

Just because there is a law against something it doesn’t automatically follow someone will prosecute you if you break it cashman.

Maybe Blythes had the contract with the Bank of England to recover the copper from old copper coins that were no longer fit for circulation.

As for the 1933 penny have a look at http://www.24carat.co.uk/1933pennyframe.html for some interesting facts.

Then there are the coins with a small KN or H adjacent to the date. These were minted by Kings Norton and Heaton mints for the BoE and are worth more than the standard penny but only if in at least good condition.

Up until 1922, I think it was, silver coins like the sixpence, shilling, florin and half crown were 100% silver. After 1922 they were only 50% silver and were made from a nickel alloy from about 1945. Silver coins were milled around the edge to show if someone had scraped the edge for slivers of silver. The milling was also useful for blind people to identify a coin.

Less · 13-05-2006, 17:34

If you are going to search through your old 2p's rather than look for the date, use a magnet The later coins will stick to it leaving the worthwhile stuff alone.

I know this system works because the other day I found a very strong magnet attached to a cats collar and that does the job perfectly.

WillowTheWhisp · 13-05-2006, 17:34

Quote:

Originally Posted by cashman

interesting that one jambutty, blythes chemicals used to get millions of old pennies etc as scrap copper,so how does that stand? we used to look through em for a 1933 penny,never found one lol, would that be cos they were no longer legal tender?

Yes once they got too worn they were considered by the BofE as being unfit for circulation.

K.S.H · 13-05-2006, 17:43

Quote:

Originally Posted by grannyclaret

but yerself can you tell me if £2 coins with the younger queen wearing a necklace is more valuable than the currant older looking queen...i have a few of those ??????????????/

Blame rock FM

You might as well get them spent, I know someone who collected them thinking he was going to be worth a fortune and planned on retiring early!! see here

Madhatter · 13-05-2006, 18:25

It works less. lend me your cat.
I can see a game there, line some coins up and bet that you can pick up every other coin up with the a magnet but leave the others exactly where they are. then do a sly swap and let them try.

Nickelson · 14-05-2006, 16:30

i always thought the 2 pund coins with a necklace are worth a fiver