Where Can You Change a 5 Pound Coin?

Do you have 5 pound commemorative coins that you want to exchange for legal tender? Are these 5 pound coins even legal tender? Where can you exchange them for legal tender?

Those are questions that have plagued the owners of these commemorative coins for years. This article will hopefully dispel some of the myths surrounding these interesting commemorative coins.

Is a 5 pound commemorative coin legal tender?

Yes. Those 5 pound commemorative coins that the Royal Mint releases are, in fact, legal tender. All coins produced by the Royal Mint are considered ‘legal tender.’ However, this does not mean that you can spend the same way you can spend pound notes. 

Why can’t you spend them the same way you spend other currency?

The coins are not circulating currency, which would mean that banks and shops have an obligation to accept it. Instead, the 5 pound coins are only legally accepted to pay a debt in court.

It’s confusing, we know.

Anyway, this naturally begs the following question.

Where can I change a 5 pound coin to legal tender?

Well, you can try going to your bank, but banks have no obligation to accept non-circulating legal tender such as a 5 pound coin. Some banks accept them for deposit, some will exchange them, and some banks flat out refuse to even accept them. 

It does help if you’re a customer of the bank.

Fortunately, there is a place that will always exchange your 5 pound coins for legal tender or as a form of payment.

Post Offices will accept 5 pound coins in exchange for goods and services. Now, not all Post Offices do this, so we recommend calling ahead to ensure that your Post Office does accept them.

In our experience, the bigger Post Offices will accept the coins and the smaller ones will not.

Do any places accept 5 pound coins?

Yes. Some shops, banks, and private parties will accept 5 pound coins as payment. 

It’s simply the choice of the business or individual whether they accept the coins or not. Shopkeepers rarely see 5 pound coins, so most of them will not accept them for payment. 

However, it’s worth asking if they accept the coins – some places do accept them for various reasons. It’s especially common for smaller shops to accept them.

5 pound coins might be worth more than 5 pounds

It’s important to note that your 5 pound coin might actually be worth more than 5 pounds. This mostly depends on the rarity and condition of the coin. 

In fact, some of these coins can be worth quite a lot of money, so it’s certainly worth researching the coin to see if it’s valuable before taking it to the Post Office.

Why does the Royal Mint manufacture 5 pound coins?

The Royal Mint manufactures 5 pound coins to commemorate notable historic and current events in the United Kingdom and Commonwealth. There have been 5 pound coins for World War I, the Olympics, British landmarks, and other events, landmarks, and people. 

As mentioned earlier, these coins aren’t meant to circulate. It’s simply a way for the Royal Mint to garner support for certain causes. 

When did the Royal Mint begin manufacturing 5 pound coins?

The Royal Mint began manufacturing 5 pound coins in 1990. Before that, the British crown was used mostly as a commemorative coin. The same rules about spending a 5 pound coin also apply to spending a British crown.

However, the British crown (coin) tends to be worth more than its face value, so most people chose to sell the British crown (coin) rather than spend it.

How much do 5 pound coins cost?

The Royal Mint sells 5 pound coins for face value – 5 pounds – directly from the Royal Mint. They only produce a limited number of each commemorative coin as well.

Sometimes the Royal Mint will sell the coins in a set or with a case, so the total will cost more than 5 pounds. But the official value of the coin from the Royal Mint is still only 5 pounds.

Can I exchange old pound notes at the bank?

The same rules apply with one exception – British pound notes are printed by the Bank of England. And the Bank of England does accept all currency that it has ever printed no matter the condition. 

That means they will accept any old notes that you have in your possession. Of course, if the note is old enough, then it’s probably worth more than its face value. 

Final Words

We hope that answered everything you need to know about exchanging your 5 pound coins for legal tender or spending them. We even added a section on old pound notes because people that have five pound coins tend to also have old pound notes. 

Anyway, the five pound coins are sometimes worth more than 5 pounds, so make sure to check the value before you take it to the Post Office or try to spend it.