What to do with the old coins If you are still in possession of a secret stash of the old version of the round pound coin then banks and post offices may still take them to exchange for the new coin (particularly if you are a customer), but it is worth contacting them first as this is only a temporary arrangement. Do you have a rare version of the pound coin? There were 24 different designs of the round
Compare this with the March 2016 ‘Peter Rabbit’ fifty pence. It first entered circulation in the Lake District (famous for its association with Beatrix Potter) and examples quickly appeared on online auction sites for many time its face value. However the Royal Mint then continued to issue this version of the coin, and current estimates are for 9.6 million of them in circulation, making it worth at most … fifty pence. The Royal Mint does not release total mintage figures of a particular version of a coin until a year after it has first been issued, so there is no easy way to tell if you are in possession of a future ‘Kew Gardens’, or just a ‘Peter Rabbit’. It is worth noting that the Royal Mint cannot offer valuations of pound coins (or any other coins for that matter) but will only verify if the coin is genuine or not.
Coin collecting as an investment? As with any other collecting activity, the value lies in the scarcity of the item. Keith Heddle, managing director of the coin investment arm of Stanley Gibbons says: “Most modern coins are never going to make money unless they are particularly rare – not a so-called ‘limited edition’ – or have been minted by mistake.” So can you make money from the old round pound coins? As they disappear to be melted down to make the newer version of the coin, it is possible that collectors will be increasingly anxious to complete their set of all 24 designs. So – in theory – yes, you might make a very small profit. But for a rather more reliable approach to maximising your returns from your money might we respectfully suggest that a chat with one of Scrutton Bland’s independent financial planners may be a more dependable option.
pound coin, some of which are rare and increasingly valuable to coin collectors (or numismatists, to give them their technical term). The rarest of these is the 2011 ‘Edinburgh City’ coin, which can sell for up to £35 on online auction sites; other examples include the 2011 ‘Cardiff City’ and the 2010 ‘London City’ pound coins. What about other rare coins that may turn up in my change? The most famous of the rare coins in current circulation is the ‘Kew Gardens’ fifty pence piece which was issued in 2009. Crucially for collectors, only 210,000 of the coins featuring the famous Kew Gardens pagoda were released into circulation. This has now made them highly desirable: their current value is about £30, although they have sold for as much as £100.
Contact our Independent Financial Advice department on 01206 838400 or 01473 267000 or see www. scruttonbland.co.uk
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