Nearly two years after they stopped being legal tender, 145 million old-style £1 coins are still missing. Legal tender has a very narrow and technical meaning and refers to the settlement of debt. £1 and £2 coins are legal tender without any restriction. Mark. A retailer has every right to refuse payment if there are more than ten pounds worth of fifty pence coins presented. 50p coins are classed as legal tender up to the total of £10. The design: Scottish Thistle, royally crowned. The Royal Mint issues UK coins. The 50 pence piece has featured the profile of Queen Elizabeth II since the coin’s first introduction in 1969. However, if you didn't manage to spend all of the old coins, you aren't necessarily out … We work closely with De La Rue, the company that currently prints our notes, to ensure they are of a consistently high quality. Tesco Bans £20 Coins. Earlier this month, a 50p coin was selling for a staggering £3,500 on eBay. In 2008, the back of all the pence coins were redesigned to show different segments of the Royal Shield. Meanwhile, this is not the first rare coin to fetch huge money online. For the previous larger ones, see here. The “most secure” 12-sided £1 coin entered circulation in March 2017, while the old round £1 coin lost its legal tender status in October 2017. Are commemorative coins legal tender? The UK's new 12-sided £1 coin is the only £1 coin that is legal tender … Coins are legal tender throughout the United Kingdom for the following amounts: £100 – for any amount. Coins in the UK are regulated by the Coinage Act of 1971. 0. tsx080 Posts: 102. Post-1971 coins can be used anywhere. Equally, traders may offer to accept payment in foreign currency, such as Euro, Yen or US Dollars. You may be surprised to see the mention of the 25p coin there; this is the ‘Crown’ and they do still exist, albeit mainly in collector’s hands. However, coins cease to be legal tender at certain amounts. In Scotland and Northern Ireland, the only legal tender is Royal Mint coins. Forum Member. There are eight accepted coins in UK currency, including the £2, £1, 50 pence, 20 pence, 10 pence, 5 pence, 2 pence, and 1 pence (penny). One of the items within the regulations states that the following coins and denominations shall be legal tender: Coins made from silver or cupro-nickel of a denomination of more than 10 pence, for payment of any amount not exceeding £10. Only the smaller post 1992 10p coins shown on this page are legal tender. £5 (Crown) – for any amount. 1. You don't mean "legal tender". From a legal perspective the meaning of ‘legal tender’ is that you can’t be sued for not paying a debt as long as you give the right amount of money in ‘legal tender’. Obverse Type 3, used 1990 – 1997 (bust design by Raphael Maklouf): Reverse Type 3, used 1990 – 2008 (design by Christopher Ironside): Edge: Milled. 2. Nope. Help us improve GOV.UK. Exclusive figures from the Royal Mint for YourMoney.com reveal £131m worth of old pound coins have yet to be returned to the Royal Mint. Four different portraits of the Queen have been used. The history of bank notes in New Zealand was considerably more complex. Specifications are shown at the bottom of this page. 1ps only count as ‘legal tender’ for any transaction equal to or less than 20p Are Scottish notes worthless? Firstly, what classifies as legal tender varies depending on which country you’re in within the UK. £20 – for any amount. Banknotes do not have to be classed as legal tender to be acceptable for trade; millions of retail transactions are carried out each day in the UK using debit cards and credit cards, none of which is a payment using legal tender. Additional Information. For the record, here are the legal tender limits for all UK coins: 1p and 2p: up to 20 pence in total; 5p and 10p: any amount up to £5; 20p, 25p and 50p: any amount up to £10; All others: any amount. Mr Chamberlain attempted to pay for £87.49 worth of petrol using five of the £20 coins at a Tesco store in Tiverton, Devon. To help us improve GOV.UK, we’d like to know more about your visit today. You can read more about legal tender coins here. Legal? Forum Member 14/12/07 - 07:47 #25. We’ll send you a link to a feedback form. August 9, 2018 12:57 pm. We aim to dispatch all items within 2 working days of cleared received payments. You can spend up to £5 in 5p or 10p coins, or up to £10 each in 50p and 20p pieces. The original 10p coins were first issued in 1968 as a larger coin and was initially used alongside and was the same size as its predecimal equivalent coin, the florin (or two shillings). 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