Royal Mint 20 pound coins

dadsgoneshopping

HI,

I bought some 20 pound coins as an investment when they were released, but have come to realise that they are very unlikely to increase in value. How can I use them or exchange them? Anybody tried this? I asked at Natwest but they wouldn't accept them
Thanks

Devon_Sailor

As a general rule, nothing ever released as a commemorative from the Royal Mint as an investment piece is any good - their prices are astronomically high...

Anyhoo, if they are the "standard" £20 coins (as opposed to the special edition silver or gold versions), then eBay is probably your best bet at at least getting face value.

Regards

D_S

alanq

Were they the October 2013 ones? If so, you may get your money back.

"A spokeswoman for the Mint said the lasting value to buyers was their value as a collectible item. She said the refusal of banks to accept the coin for deposit had also led the Mint to adopt the unusual practice of offering a refund during the first six months after purchase."
http://www.theguardian.com/business/2013/sep/05/20-pound-coin-royal-mint-dealer-sceptical

puk999

Assume you're referring to the 1/2 ounce 999 fine silver ones? I bought 3 of them as they are legal tender. My assumption on what that phrase meant differed from reality. I thought it meant banks/shops were obliged to take them but realised it means an organisation is only obliged to accept it to settle a debt. For instance, a restaurant must accept them to pay a bill as you owe them a debt.

I found this Guardian article which doesn't rate the coins at all. Scroll to the bottom and it says:

A spokeswoman for the Mint said the lasting value to buyers was their value as a collectible item. She said the refusal of banks to accept the coin for deposit had also led the Mint to adopt the unusual practice of offering a refund during the first six months after purchase.

I wrote to them asking about legal tender and how to refund and this is their reply. I sent them back using the freepost address and the money was refunded on my credit card soon after.

Thank you for contacting our Customer Services Team regarding our new £20 coin. Please let me confirm some facts.

Calling the coin legal tender is absolutely and legally true, based on the fact the coin has been approved by the Privy Council and are denominations and specifications contained in the UK Coin Act of 1971.
Our Q&A information advises legal tender has a very narrow and technical meaning in the settlement of debts. It means that a debtor cannot successfully be sued for non-payment if he pays into court in legal tender. It does not mean that any ordinary transaction has to take place in legal tender or only within the amount denominated by the legislation. Both parties are free to agree to accept any form of payment whether legal tender or otherwise according to their wishes. In order to comply with the very strict rules governing an actual legal tender it is necessary, for example, actually to offer the exact amount due because no change can be demanded. This is covered on our website:
http://www.royalmint.com/aboutus/policies-and-guidelines/legal-tender-guidelines

This coin is legal tender, as it has been approved by the Privy Council to be a coin of the realm. It is not, and never has been, presented as a circulation coin. It has been designed wholly as a collectible coin or as a gift, something we have been doing regularly with high-denomination coins for the last 30 years or more. This year alone we have released the following examples:

£1000 coin Royal Christening gold proof kilo
£500 coin Royal Christening silver proof kilo / Britannia 5oz gold coin
£10 coin Royal christening silver 5oz coin
£5 coin Royal christening £5 BU coin
£2 coin Britannia silver 1oz coin
20p coin Britannia 1/10 oz. silver coin
10p coin Britannia 1/20 oz. silver coin

These are all coins of the realm, all approved by Privy Council, all denominations and specifications contained within the UK Coin Act of 1971. All of them designed to be limited edition collectibles or gifts, not as circulating coins to be used in daily life, all sold at a price over and above their nominal ‘face’ value, never with the intention of their value being realised by spending in shops or depositing in a bank.

This £20 coin is designed for the exact same purpose as those listed above, with the added benefit of being sold at face value, and the information on our website for this product is equally clear on this.



As soon as it is returned to us we will automatically refund you.

I can confirm that the freepost returns address is as follows:


FREEPOST RSRL-BLZZ-LRRK
Continuities Returns CCPS
PO Box 500
Pontyclun
CF72 8WP

We advise that you request proof of postage

Kind Regards

Jane Clark
Customer Services

lalman

I bought myself quite a few of these coins for a few reasons:

1. Nice gifts
2. I collect coins
3. Due to having a face value of 20 quid - its highly unlikely that the value will drop below it...

I can totally understand all the views expressed above though...

DiggerUK

The Royal Mint found it a good wheeze selling Primark Silver at Gucci prices.

It is legal tender, but legal tender just means it has to be accepted as payment for a debt, not payment for a transaction in the market place.

I was wondering why they had increased their maximum order from 3, to 10 per household

Royal Mint needs to be carefull of this practice of refunding customers, what will they do if people start sending their sovereigns back.
..._

vectistim

DiggerUK wrote: »

Royal Mint needs to be carefull of this practice of refunding customers, what will they do if people start sending their sovereigns back.
..._

Send the refund in legal tender.

brendon

Either eat in a restaurant and pay with the coins, or perhaps with part-payment towards your council tax.

kidmugsy

Hold on. Its value is collared at £20. As a "collectible" its value might increase beyond that. And you're buying silver free of VAT, such that any profit would be free of CGT since it's coin of the realm. The value as silver is only a bit above £6 today but it could be four or five times that the day after tomorrow: or a century hence, whichever comes first.

Meantime it's a thing of beauty. I'd say that might not be an awful investment.

Maybe I should visit a coin dealer and see whether I can buy some for less than twenty quid.

brendon

Just noticed that these coins are selling for £23 on eBay. And the Royal Mint still has them in stock for £20. Odd behaviour.

crisp

I have wondered for some time. I have a few £2 coins from 1986 (commonwealth games) and 1989 (bill of rights (I think)). Can I use them as legal tender?

If not can I take them to my bank and get their face value?