Fallen Heretic Posted April 2, 2008 Share Posted April 2, 2008 I figured this would suit better in here rather than in random... The Royal Mint has revealed the new designs for the tail sides of UK coins. They will be introduced gradualy over the year. The old coins will remain legal tender for the forseeable future. The head sides will remain the same, so you shouldn't get confused. They are still the same size, shape and colour, but just in case, here is a link showing the new coins so you know what you can expect. www.royalmint.com/newdesigns/designsRevealed.aspx Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ebl Posted April 2, 2008 Share Posted April 2, 2008 Why did I think Britain adopted the euro? Or did they, and this is just traditional coinage? As a coin collector, I should know simple things like that. Eric Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carnage Posted April 2, 2008 Share Posted April 2, 2008 The head sides will remain the same, so you shouldn't get confused. They are still the same size, shape and colour, but just in case, here is a link showing the new coins so you know what you can expect. So we "shouldn't" get confused? What if we did before?? The images on the coins I barely noticed. What threw me for a loop was the random sizes. In North America we are used to a very specific coin size. For the most part the bigger the coin, the bigger the value. In the UK it almost seems backwards. I quite often found myself totally confused as to how much change I had. (with the exceptin of the pound and two pound). Many times I'd be buying something, and trying to figure out how much I had in change. Eventually I'd give up, say "screw it!!" and pull out a nicely labeled bill. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bucket Posted April 2, 2008 Share Posted April 2, 2008 Why did I think Britain adopted the euro? Or did they, and this is just traditional coinage? As a coin collector, I should know simple things like that. Eric No, they use the British pound. And apparently it's really strong! An English ERASMUS student who is studying near me says 1 British pound is equivalent to almost 2 American dollars! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nemesis-storm Posted April 2, 2008 Share Posted April 2, 2008 Not quite sure why this should not be in 'Random' but there you go. The BBC news website explains the changes well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ebl Posted April 2, 2008 Share Posted April 2, 2008 "In the UK it almost seems backwards." (Carnage) Well, remember which side of the road they drive on... Eric Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ghost007jas Posted April 2, 2008 Share Posted April 2, 2008 No, they use the British pound. And apparently it's really strong! An English ERASMUS student who is studying near me says 1 British pound is equivalent to almost 2 American dollars! That is in part due to how weak the American dollar is . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fallen Heretic Posted April 2, 2008 Author Share Posted April 2, 2008 Why did I think Britain adopted the euro? Or did they, and this is just traditional coinage? As a coin collector, I should know simple things like that. Eric The UK never signed up to the Euro, so its never been used here. Though there are some stores around which do accept Euros, mostly in airports or ferry terminals, but its not officially legal tender. Ive never quite understood the size and shape of the current coins either. Maybe its just the different decades that they were introduced, some being kept traditional, and some being more modern in design. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MattyD Posted April 3, 2008 Share Posted April 3, 2008 I know it is kinda confusing but our coinage goes in size, shape and colour order - Mainly because being english we like being awkward and making things hard for foreign visitors! If you look our currency is in bronze, silver, gold order - like medals! Within the colour bands you go up in size as the currency goes up, so in bronze a 1p is smaller than a 2p! Then you move into silver 5p is smaller than 10p - then we change shape to be awkward - the septagonal coins in the silver colour (20p, 50p) also go in size order! Then in the gold colour the £1 is smaller than the £2 and I then we move onto notes which also go in size order I believe - although not as noticable! I think the reason people get confused is that the way US and British currency are divided up and the way the coins are designed is so different - and some of your coins being called things like 'Dime' also confused me! You have quarters (effectively a 25p coin to us) and we don't - we have a 20p (effectively a 20cent coin) and I think differences like that make it difficult to understand, but ultimately it all adds up to 100 (100cents = 1Dollar and 100p = 1Pound) so we shouldn't get so confused... but we do! Hope that was helpful? or atleast vaguely helpful! Matt Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Purplepills Posted April 3, 2008 Share Posted April 3, 2008 ^Plus the notes are completely different colours. This was the only slightly annoying thing when we were in the US as to anyone not used to the notes they are pretty similar (size and colour). I do really like the whole quarters thing though. To me it makes more sense than our system, and removes the need for the 50p really. I didn't even know we were getting new coins . I can see how it might be a bit confusing to visitors, but then most foreign currency is confusing to a point. I have no idea why anoyone would think changing the designs ON the coins would confuse anyone. There are loads of variations of coin designs already. I assumed thats why they are different shapes. One thing I never worked out is why a one cent coin is called a penny though. Surely it should be a cenny or something. And I'm confused as to why this thread isn't in 'random'. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MG Posted April 3, 2008 Share Posted April 3, 2008 "In the UK it almost seems backwards." (Carnage) Well, remember which side of the road they drive on... Eric Well, in fact Americans drive on the right since they copied the FRENCH!! Napoleon instructed his troops to march on the right hand side of roads. Most of the world followed. We drive on the left due to a historical reason, where our soldiers won a battle by striking from their left hand side instead of their right. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MattyD Posted April 3, 2008 Share Posted April 3, 2008 Wow! You got historical on his ass! I knew there must have been a good reason for us driving on the correct side of the road and everyone else on the wrong side of the road, now I know! You learn something new everyday! Any chance you have a historical explaination for our system of currency? Matt Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Louise Posted April 3, 2008 Share Posted April 3, 2008 Wow, I really like the new designs!! Not that it really makes any difference, money is money, but I do like it when they freshen it up every once in a while. Oh, and I too don't quite understand why this isn't suited to the Random board, so I'm gonna go ahead and move it across. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Purplepills Posted April 3, 2008 Share Posted April 3, 2008 I also think the designs are actually pretty cool as far as coins go, mainly the way that all the coins put together make a big emblem. It'll be fun for the first time, maybe even twice when you are able to put them together for yourself! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ebl Posted April 3, 2008 Share Posted April 3, 2008 "...money is money, but I do like it when they freshen it up every once in a while." (Louise) This is why I like the State Quarter program here in the U.S. And the 2004-2005 nickels. And the Presidential Dollars. And the forthcoming Lincoln cents in 2009. Even though we drive on the "wrong side of the road"---according to your historian, MG --- we do "change our change" occasionally. Eric Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fallen Heretic Posted April 3, 2008 Author Share Posted April 3, 2008 Well, thanks Louise for moving it. My thinking was that it might be helpful for anyone coming over on a trip to know, and since all the trip type stuff is on the other board I thought that would be a better place for it. If I had thought it would actually spark a conversation, I would have plopped it in here. Guess my logic is somewhat messed up. You really dont want to see how my files are organised, but it works for me. Anyway, I think the notes being different sizes is to help blind people find the correct one. Ive seen these little plastic things that they can hold the notes against to feel which note it is. Its probably the same with coins now I think about it. No two are the same shape. Two thin circular ones with smooth sides, two thin circular ones with rough sides, two with 7 sides, and two thick ones. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IceDragon Posted April 3, 2008 Share Posted April 3, 2008 ^Plus the notes are completely different colours. I like having a colourful wallet though... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chrissie Posted April 3, 2008 Share Posted April 3, 2008 How Random... I didn't know they were doing this.... Come to Scotland and we will confuse you even more with our money. Apparently, its "not legal tender" South of the border..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ebl Posted April 3, 2008 Share Posted April 3, 2008 ^ Funny...south of our border, they do take our money! Eric Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MattyD Posted April 4, 2008 Share Posted April 4, 2008 ^^ It always used to be legal tender down here because my aunty lives in Scotland and used to send me cash in the post for my birthday - bad Idea I know! But now not even Primark will take it and they take anything - even poker chips if you draw a pound sign on it! - because apparently they think the Scots are all fraudsters! And what's with your £1 notes? we got rid of those years and years ago! I'm part Scottish so I don't why I am saying 'we'! Matt Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fallen Heretic Posted April 4, 2008 Author Share Posted April 4, 2008 A quote lifted from wikipedia "Scottish banknotes are unusual in that they are technically not legal tender anywhere in the UK – not even in Scotland – they are in fact promissory notes. Indeed, no banknotes (even Bank of England notes) are now legal tender in Scotland. Nevertheless, like debit cards and credit cards, they are used as money because they are commonly understood and agreed to be money. Despite this, Scottish-issued notes are sometimes refused in England and Wales and are not always accepted by banks and exchange bureaus outside of the United Kingdom. This is particularly true in the case of the Royal Bank of Scotland £1 note, which is the only £1 note to remain in circulation within the UK" So, technically, only coins are legal in Scotland. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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