British Coins

The Royal Botanical Gardens, Kew, is featured on the 2009 British 50 Pence coin commemorating the 250th Anniversary of the foundation of the gardens.

The Sovereign is still legal tender, but since the value of a gold Sovereign far out weighs its face value of One Pound, only a fool would spend one for a Pounds worth of goods.

Sovereigns (or any British gold coin) only cease to be legal tender when through wear, they fall below a certain weight.

The use of "p" to designate "pence" along with the use of decimal amounts did not begin until 1971.

Please check your coin again and post a new question with more details that can help ID it.

A British 1922 bronze Farthing (George V), uncirculated and in absolute mint condition could fetch up to £15 GBP. If it has been circulated but still in good condition, it might fetch up to £3 GBP.

The values quoted are the best possible for the best specimens in their grades, but may be significantly lower due to varying demand for the coin and the prevailing economic climate. A reputable coin dealer will be able to give a more accurate valuation based on inspection of the coin.

A British 1919 sterling silver Shilling (George V), uncirculated and in absolute mint condition could fetch up to £70 GBP. If it has been circulated but still in good condition, it might fetch anything from £4 to £30 GBP.

The values quoted are the best possible for the best specimens in their grades, but may be significantly lower due to varying demand for the coin and the prevailing economic climate. A reputable coin dealer will be able to give a more accurate valuation based on inspection of the coin.

It depends how this question is interpreted...... a) what is the value of the modern pound of today worth in terms of the Imperial currency of 1776..... Another interpretation of the question might be b) what is the current value of what the old imperial pound of 1776 used to be worth in terms of today's money? Answer a) A RPI (retail price index) calculator suggested, on another site, that the value of £1 as it was valued in 2007 would have been worth £0 0s 2d. The earnings calculator gave a value of 0d. So a sum of money between 1d and 2d in 1776 would be a best estimate to the modern sterling pound, in other words, at most, two pence. Answer b) In the Imperial system there were 240 pennies (d) in a pound, as there were 12 pence in a shilling and 20 shillings in a pound. If we take 1.5 d as a best guess for the value of £1 (in 2007) , then the imperial pound of 1776 was worth about £160 in today's money. Nigel (nigel_johnston@yahoo.com)

Point 1 - Sixpences converted to 2.5 Pence at the conversion to decimal currency, Shillings converted to 5 Pence.

Point 2 - Banks are under no obligation to accept the old 1/2, 5, 10 and 50 Pence coins, much less any pre-decimal coins, and "might" only do so if you are an account holding customer.

If your pre-decimal coins are in good condition, you might get more for them from a coin dealer or collector.

Victoria reigned for about 60 years and there were about a dozen different coin denominations struck so you need to be a lot more specific. Please post a new question with the coin's date, denomination, and condition.

There are two variants of this coin with small differences that you would need the two coins side by side to appreciate.

A British 1876 gold Half-Sovereign (QV)(Crowned Shield)(Third bust - young head), uncirculated and in absolute mint condition could fetch up to £425 GBP. If it has been circulated but still in good condition, it might fetch anything from up to £250 GBP.

A British 1876 gold Half-Sovereign (QV)(Crowned Shield)(Fourth bust - young head - narrow hair ribbon), uncirculated and in absolute mint condition could fetch up to £425 GBP. If it has been circulated but still in good condition, it might fetch anything up to £225 GBP.

NOTE - The reverse of these coins is upside down to the obverse. This is normal.

The values quoted are the best possible for the best specimens in their grades, but may be significantly lower due to varying demand for the coin and the prevailing economic climate. A reputable coin dealer will be able to give a more accurate valuation based on inspection of the coin.

The British 1896 Penny was almost identical to all British Pennies minted from 1895 to 1901 inclusive.

They were minted at the Royal Mint London in 1896 and were made from bronze (95% copper, 4% tin and 1% zinc), weighed 9.467 grams and were 30.81 mm in diameter.

The obverse featured Queen Victoria with what is variously known as the "Old veiled bust" or the "Widow head bust" designed by Thomas Brock.

The reverse featured the seated figure of Britannia holding a trident and shield designed by Leonard Charles Wyon.

The inscription "VICTORIA DEI GRA BRITT REGINA FID DEF IND IMP" is abbreviated Latin, variations of which have been used on British coins for many years. It translates as "Victoria, by the Grace of God, Queen of Britain, Defender of the Faith, Empress of India".

With the possible exception of traders tokens (with the traders business name on them), there were no "Australian" coins minted prior to 1910.

Any coins circulating in Australia prior to 1910, were British coins.

There was a period from 1855 to 1870 when Sovereigns and Half-Sovereigns were minted at the newly opened Sydney Mint and had the words "Australia" and "Sydney Mint" on them. These coins were minted for local circulation since the gold had been mined in Australia.

Beyond that, all Sovereigns and Half-Sovereigns minted in Australia, were British coins minted to the British pattern.

In 1940 through 1946, half crowns weighed 14.138 grams and were 50% silver - they thus contained 0.2273 troy ounces of silver. In 1947, the half crown (and all other "silver" British coins) were changed to cupro-nickel, and thus contain no silver at all.

Depends where you are. In most countries, it is totally illegal to deface currency. In others, it is illegal to deface them up to the point where they can no longer be used as currency.

Any coin with a "genuine" minting flaw would have some value, above the usual, as a collectible coin.

Genuinely flawed coins are not necessarily known about or documented until somebody turns up with one, since they are an "accident" of the minting process, and have escaped detection during quality control at the mint therefore, a valuation cannot be anticipated.

A reputable coin dealer should be able to identify and confirm the coin as genuine and make a valuation.

Flaws and errors on coins should not be confused with mutilation or mangling of the coin.

There were no 1990 British Two Pound coins minted.

A British 1904 bronze Farthing (Edward VII), uncirculated and in absolute mint condition could fetch up to £23 GBP. If it has been circulated but still in good condition, it might fetch anything from £2 to £8 GBP.

A reputable coin dealer will be able to give a more accurate valuation.

Bullion refers to a precious metal, most commonly gold and silver when dealing with coins, but there are many other precious metals that could be referred to as bullion.

The bullion value of anything, such as a coin, is the value of the gold it is made from and has nothing to do with the coin itself.

The bullion value of any precious metal will change on an hourly basis entirely on the whims of the market.

They used 92.5% silver till 1920

They used 50% silver till 1947

A British 1562 Groat (Fourpence)(Queen Elizabeth I - Second Issue), circulated but still in good condition, might fetch anything from £75 to £250 GBP. A reputable coin dealer will be able to give a more accurate valuation.

A 'score' is slang for a £20 note as it is for all items having a total of 20.

The banknote you describe does not exist.

G.M. Gill was Chief Cashier of the Bank of England from 1988 to 1991.

Please submit a new question including the serial number of the note.

With a mintage of 75 million it may be worth about .10 with heavy wear to around .15 with moderate wear to maybe .25 with light wear to perhaps $5 if uncirculated. You might also try a library for a copy of the Standard Catalog of World Coins for pictures, values and lots more interesting info.

A Farthing coin is a denomination of the old redundant predecimal British currency system and dates back to the 13th century.

The name "Farthing" was derived from the Anglo-Saxon word "Feorthing" which is a Forthling or a fourth part.

Originally, the Farthing was made from silver of varying quality and from 1558, they were made from copper and eventually bronze from 1860.

Since 1816, the Farthing has varied from 20 to 23.5mm in diameter and weighed from 2.821 to 4.749 grams.

A Farthing coin represented 1/4 of a Penny (1/4d) or, 1/48th of a Shilling or, 1/960th of a Sovereign or 1/960th of a Pound.

The last Farthing was minted in 1956, but they continued to be used until 1960 when they had become virtually worthless, and were demonetised on the 31st of December, 1960.

At Britains conversion to decimal currency there was no equivalent coin, but the Farthing coin converts to 0.104 New Pence in the new currency.

From a coin collectors perspective, a Farthing coin, depending on the year, condition and method of minting, could be worth anything from a few Pounds to maybe a thousand Pounds GBP.

Please note that since the Farthing is part of a redundant or obsolete currency, it no longer has an "exchange rate" with other currencies.

You have given the barest minimum of information.

Your Bank of England Ten Shilling banknote is probably a Series "C" Red/Brown 1967 issue with the Chief Cashier as J.S. Forde.

Uncirculated and in absolute mint condition, itcould fetch anything up to £10 GBP. If it has been circulated but still in good condition, it might fetch anything from £2 to £5 GBP.

A reputable coin dealer will be able to indentify it conclusively and give a more accurate valuation.