A change of monarch, what happens to the currency?

[Foster88]

Hi all,

I’ve been thinking recently from reading posts here and something got me thinking.

My recent purchase of a set of Victoria crowns made me think, we know, like all of us the inhevitable will happen one day.

A wise man once told me, morbidly but true I suppose “There are only two guarantees in life, we pay taxes and we die.” 🙄 Cheerful, I know.

Anyway, why did I mention the crowns I’ve recently bought? Well, one in particular is quite worn, minted in 1900. But old Victoria died in early 1901. So why would a crown minted a year before she died be so worn like it’s been in more pockets, till drawers and banks than we’ve all had hot dinners put together? < That’s both a rhetorical question and a genuine one.

So I wonder, as many of us aren’t old enough to remember the last time the monarch changed. No offence to those who do.

Just how long do coins stay in circulation after a change of monarch?

I appreciate that this crown as an example has survived 121 years and will have been handled, stored, traded and god knows what. Poor Victoria looks like she’s lost her earrings, gone bald and lost her pearl necklace. It’s been spared the melting pot but it’s very worn.

Was it so different when the monarch changed in 1901, 1910, 1936 and 1952 as it might be today? I suppose it would be as we were a cash dependent society then. Not so much today.

I appreciate there are many factors to my post but I’m interested to know just how long coins stay in circulation after the monarch has passed.

[HerefordBullyun]

Youll probably find that they already have design lined up for charles already at the Royal mint. Now QEII is coming near to the end of her tenure. Not saying its immenent but they plan accordingly.... It clearly would have to be approved by charles proir to issue, but Im sure he will have seen something for it, even if its in the design phase.

Edited October 12, 2021 by HerefordBullyun

[Roy]

1 hour ago, Foster88 said:

Just how long do coins stay in circulation after a change of monarch?

I don't know the definite answer to your question, but I remember George VI shillings and florins being in circulation perhaps up to the '90s?

The sixpence was currency up to the '80s too?

Actually, I think George V silver coins too, although perhaps people had cottoned on to the silver content and these were being 'stacked' as early as 1947?

It was probably decimalisation that killed the King's coins. Folk struggled to understand the old denominations, I don't recall them being particularly worn, although it was a long time ago!

[HerefordBullyun]

4 hours ago, Roy said:

I don't know the definite answer to your question, but I remember George VI shillings and florins being in circulation perhaps up to the '90s?

The sixpence was currency up to the '80s too?

Actually, I think George V silver coins too, although perhaps people had cottoned on to the silver content and these were being 'stacked' as early as 1947?

It was probably decimalisation that killed the King's coins. Folk struggled to understand the old denominations, I don't recall them being particularly worn, although it was a long time ago!

There's a man showing his age!  😜

Loves ya Roy  !

Best Bully 🐮

[AppleZippoandMetronome]

If it works the same way here as in Canada they won't be removed from circulation. Growing up in Canada I very much remember still getting change (mainly 1c, 5c & 10c) with George VI on them. They were never removed from circulation - they just became rare as the years ticked by and coins with the current monarch were minted. I don't see why it would be any different here. It would just make no sense to go through the effort and expense of trying to replace all that change in a short period of time.

[TeaTime]

You could still spend a George III shilling in the UK up until the coin size changed in 1990...

A change of monarch has historically made no difference to UK currency. Who knows though, maybe this time it could act as a catalyst for the removal of a great deal of UK shrapnel 😁

[Roy]

22 minutes ago, TeaTime said:

You could still spend a George III shilling in the UK up until the coin size changed in 1990...

That's what it was, the coins all got smaller!

23 minutes ago, TeaTime said:

A change of monarch has historically made no difference to UK currency.

Indeed, and why should it? 👍

[Booky586]

17 hours ago, Foster88 said:

I appreciate there are many factors to my post but I’m interested to know just how long coins stay in circulation after the monarch has passed.

It's not really the monarchs death that takes a coin out of circulation but the law i.e. the coinage act.

The crown in your hand is still legal tender and worth 25p. I can't imagine you'll be wanting to spend it though 😀

[StackemHigh]

On 12/10/2021 at 20:06, Booky586 said:

It's not really the monarchs death that takes a coin out of circulation but the law i.e. the coinage act.

The crown in your hand is still legal tender and worth 25p. I can't imagine you'll be wanting to spend it though 😀

Correct me if i am wrong but crowns were removed from circulation in 1990 too. The 'Crown' we have today is a £5 coin

[Booky586]

1 hour ago, StackemHigh said:

Correct me if i am wrong but crowns were removed from circulation in 1990 too. The 'Crown' we have today is a £5 coin

I'm not aware of the old crown being removed. The commemorative £5 crown has been introduced but I think the 2 crowns still run side by side. Here's the royal mint information in legal tender:

https://www.royalmint.com/aboutus/policies-and-guidelines/legal-tender-guidelines/

[TeaTime]

I'm pretty sure the change to the 'value' of a crown was brought about by a need to increase RM profits. Why have a 25p face value when you can change it to £5 and therefore charge more for it... This was a precursor to the £20/£50/£100 coin fiasco 😁. Anyone remember the £5 for £5 advertising from the RM around the time the 'value' was increased to a fiver ? Sounds familiar doesn't it ? It worked then because they were simpler times and the majority of customers were collectors. It came crashing down for the higher denomination silver coins when people tried to take advantage of cashback or airmile deals. We used to be happy in our ignorance !

Imagine running a company where you can increase profits just by changing the wording on the thing you manufacture.

[StackemHigh]

5 hours ago, TeaTime said:

I'm pretty sure the change to the 'value' of a crown was brought about by a need to increase RM profits. Why have a 25p face value when you can change it to £5 and therefore charge more for it... This was a precursor to the £20/£50/£100 coin fiasco 😁. Anyone remember the £5 for £5 advertising from the RM around the time the 'value' was increased to a fiver ? Sounds familiar doesn't it ? It worked then because they were simpler times and the majority of customers were collectors. It came crashing down for the higher denomination silver coins when people tried to take advantage of cashback or airmile deals. We used to be happy in our ignorance !

Imagine running a company where you can increase profits just by changing the wording on the thing you manufacture.

I'm sure BMW and Mercedes-Benz  do this all the time!

[StackemHigh]

I'm sure nothing will happen to the coins in circulation. But when it does happen as it will the rm will just change their dies and carry on as normal with maybe slightly higher mintages as they know some people will keep and collect the latest monarch coins.

[Minimalist]

On 12/10/2021 at 02:21, Foster88 said:

Just how long do coins stay in circulation after a change of monarch?

I think it stays the same. The only legal tender in England and Wales is metals and bank of england notes. Scotland it is metals only.