Found guernsey money from previous holiday

ralphhughes

Hi,

I've found a small amount (£15 in notes) of Guernsey money from a previous holiday. Unlikely I'll ever be back there so want to turn it back into normal English pounds.

As far as I know, Guernsey money is 1:1 with GBP.

This thread:
forums.digitalspy.co.uk /showthread.php?t=1524693

says I can just take it to my bank. Tried that today and my bank (Santander) said I couldn't put it in my current account as it didn't say "Sterling" on it? How can I change it back to £15 that will be accepted here?

Voyager2002

Try taking it to a proper bank.

eDicky

Don't worry, your 15 Guernsey pounds is good money, even though it is not accepted by many retailers because it does not feature the word "Sterling" on the notes. Your bank should accept it to deposit into your account as GBP without question, and if you again encounter an ignorant teller, ask for his/her superior or the manager (if such people exist these days) or they can check in their book of Scottish, NI and CI notes for the notes' validity. Alternatively, if there is a cash deposit facility at the bank's ATM, it will probably accept these notes.

Some small shopkeepers in London who know they can bank these notes will accept them, but most supermarket check-out staff and machines, which accept Scottish and N Ireland notes, do not accept Channel Island notes, so you would be best taking them to your bank again.

Please let us know if Santander officially and definitively refuse to accept these notes again.

callum9999

ralphhughes wrote: »

Hi,

I've found a small amount (£15 in notes) of Guernsey money from a previous holiday. Unlikely I'll ever be back there so want to turn it back into normal English pounds.

As far as I know, Guernsey money is 1:1 with GBP.

This thread:
forums.digitalspy.co.uk /showthread.php?t=1524693

says I can just take it to my bank. Tried that today and my bank (Santander) said I couldn't put it in my current account as it didn't say "Sterling" on it? How can I change it back to £15 that will be accepted here?

I was under the impression that it's not 1:1 with GBP, it is GBP? Just like Scottish notes are GBP.

eDicky

callum9999 wrote: »

I was under the impression that it's not 1:1 with GBP, it is GBP? Just like Scottish notes are GBP.

Guernsey pound (GGP) and Jersey pound (JEP) are exactly equivalent in value to GBP (English, Scottish and NI); the notes are normally accepted by any UK bank and can also be changed 1:1 for English notes in airport (or perhaps any) bureaux de change. Retailers are reluctant to accept such notes which do not feature the word "Sterling".

callum9999

eDicky wrote: »

Guernsey pound (GGP) and Jersey pound (JEP) are exactly equivalent in value to GBP (English, Scottish and NI); the notes are normally accepted by any UK bank and can also be changed 1:1 for English notes in airport (or perhaps any) bureaux de change. Retailers are reluctant to accept such notes which do not feature the word "Sterling".

Are you sure? It really looks like they actually are GBP - they don't even have an official currency code!

antenna

Buy three of those "Legal Tender" £5 coins minted by Bank Of Neverpay (Guernsey) free post and packing........and legal tender in Guernsay (on the last thursday in a month of 28 days excluding february........sorted.

bouncydog1

Guernsey money has exactly the same value as GBP. You should just be able to take it into a larger branch of Nat West, HSBC, Lloyds etc and ask for it to be changed.

Alternatively, depending where in the country you are, you may be able to use it at your local airport if they have flights in from Guernsey - I know that Southampton accept it.

Neil49

You may find that a proper bank (ie, not Santander) will charge you a fee for changing the notes unless you hold an account with them. Santander should be ashamed of themselves for such poor service but it doesn't surprise me.

eDicky

callum9999 wrote: »

Are you sure? It really looks like they actually are GBP - they don't even have an official currency code!

Yes you are right, Guernsey pounds are effectively Pounds Sterling - GBP.

The three letter code GGP may or may not be an ISO 4217 issue but is used as the identifier where needed. Eg:
http://www.xe.com/currency/ggp-guernsey-pound

Similarly, JEP for Jersey pounds and IMP for Manx pounds (Isle of Man). The notes issues by these three Crown Dependencies are locally issued variants of the pound, and legal tender only in the islands. This means that nobody in England is legally obliged to accept them (which applies to anything other than Bank of England notes), but in practice most banks and currency exchanges do.

I have not seen a Guernsey note for many years, but a couple of years ago I had no trouble exchanging and sometimes using some Jersey pounds, but not everywhere, the Tesco check-out machines spat them out in disgust!

callum9999

eDicky wrote: »

Yes you are right, Guernsey pounds are effectively Pounds Sterling - GBP.

The three letter code GGP may or may not be an ISO 4217 issue but is used as the identifier where needed. Eg:
http://www.xe.com/currency/ggp-guernsey-pound

Similarly, JEP for Jersey pounds and IMP for Manx pounds (Isle of Man). The notes issues by these three Crown Dependencies are locally issued variants of the pound, and legal tender only in the islands. This means that nobody in England is legally obliged to accept them (which applies to anything other than Bank of England notes), but in practice most banks and currency exchanges do.

I have not seen a Guernsey note for many years, but a couple of years ago I had no trouble exchanging and sometimes using some Jersey pounds, but not everywhere, the Tesco check-out machines spat them out in disgust!

The whole issue of legal tender is overplayed though. 21 pennies aren't legal tender but you aren't going to find a shop that would refuse them!