(no subject)

[sarah_orange]

ooo I'm prolific today. or bored. you decide.

anyway...

I've just discovered (although it turns out that at least one person in the office knew this anyway) that 'copper' coins made after a certain date aren't really solid copper at all - 1ps and 2ps after the early 1990s respond to magnets. apparently this is because there would be more than 1p worth of copper in a one pence piece so they're now steel with a copper coating. I feel cheated. but also I feel my first million dollars coming on as I carefully swap all new 1ps and 2ps for old ones, melt them down and sell them at a profit.

*writes business plan*

step 1
collect old pennies

step 3
PROFIT!!

Comments

[steer.livejournal.com]

Your business plan appears to involve collecting spare change.

This is the same business plan that the people who sit outside Tesco drinking use.

[sarah-orange.livejournal.com]

pfft! I'm going to apply a far more scientific approach. I'm going to take all my money to the arcade in whitby and change it for 2ps. then I'll pass a magnet over the 2ps and swap back any that stick into real money and then try another arcade. rinse and repeat.

[steer.livejournal.com]

swap back any that stick into real money

I think 2p coins are real money already.

Well, I'll feel embarrassed when you're a millionaire and people refer to you as Lady Sarah Orange, the famous copper magnate.

[sarah-orange.livejournal.com]

I think 2p coins are real money already
ah yes but only legal tender up to the value of 20p...

[kynon.livejournal.com]

I thought it was up to £1 for coppers?

[sarah-orange.livejournal.com]

nope 20p for coppers. might be something silly like 22 or 24 - I found an internet page a few months back with 'legal tender' for various countries

[steer.livejournal.com]

ah yes but only legal tender up to the value of 20p...

That's so weird. I did not know that.

[sarah-orange.livejournal.com]

http://www.royalmint.com/Corporate/BritishCoinage/LegalTenderGuidelines.aspx

there you go. it's 20p for 1ps and 2ps

[hughe.livejournal.com]

hmm that page has utf-8 fail

[sinibar.livejournal.com]

I didn't know that either, but I do remember there was a chap who paid his poll tax (about £400 IIRC) in 1p coins. I'm guessing this is to prevent those kind of shenanigans.

[big-daz.livejournal.com]

Alas, melting down The Queen's currency is illegal, so you'd probably get banged up for it.

[sarah-orange.livejournal.com]

how would they know?
*is a ninja copper magnate*

[mister-jack.livejournal.com]

No, it isn't. That was repealed some years back.

[sarah-orange.livejournal.com]

*de-stealths*

[sinibar.livejournal.com]

Excellent! Now I can stop worrying about all those "improvised copper washers" that I've used over the years when I didn't have purpose made one to hand, but did have a drill.

[sarah-orange.livejournal.com]

that is *such* a geeky icon mr sinibar!

[hughe.livejournal.com]

*splutters tea at icon*

[raachi.livejournal.com]

embarrassingly, i not only knew that but have done experiments >_>

[sarah-orange.livejournal.com]

*points at the marvellous 'copper' coin sculpture attached to the magnet on her camera case*

[echo-echo.livejournal.com]

Actually, I think somebody has the same idea. There are vending machines in our local supermarket that give a free 'Change exchange'. These machines must cost a bit so there must be money to be made somewhere.

[sarah-orange.livejournal.com]

ah I always thought they took a little for 'charity'

[echo-echo.livejournal.com]

They do? Oh, maybe they don't melt them down then! hahaha.

[http://users.livejournal.com/_pyromancer_/]

You sure it's free? There's a "CoinStar" machine in ASDA that counts change and prints a slip you take to the checkouts to convert into useful money, but it charges 7.5% for the privilige. I save up copper change in a tin and take it to be counted when full, with 1s and 2s I'm not bothered about the 7.5% as the convenience is worth it.

I keep my silver and pound coins in another tin though, and count those by hand - there's usually over £100 quid in it, rather than the $15 or so that the copper one accumulates.

Most of the silver and pound ones end up getting spent down The Subculture anyway, so perhaps I am secretly financing the Orange Ninja Copper Magnate busines plan by stealth?

[amber-missy.livejournal.com]

Has anyone else noticed that step 2 seems to be missing...? :P

[(Anonymous)]

Not such a bad plan...

It was the same with sixpences. The old pre war ones were silver and the later ones were nickel or something like that.
Just after decimalisation, my Mum worked in a shop, and a little girl used to come in every day with an old sixpence for sweets. Turned out her Dad was a builder, and had found a box of old sixpences under the floor in a house he was working on. My Mum took the lot off her (over 100 of them). Still has them, and they now sell for about £40 each. Win! :)

[darkstones.livejournal.com]

Not such a bad plan...

It was the same with sixpences. The old pre war ones were silver and the later ones were nickel or something like that.
Just after decimalisation, my Mum worked in a shop, and a little girl used to come in every day with an old sixpence for sweets. Turned out her Dad was a builder, and had found a box of old sixpences under the floor in a house he was working on. My Mum took the lot off her (over 100 of them). Still has them, and they now sell for about £40 each. Win! :)

[sarah-orange.livejournal.com]

aha that'll teach you to log on properly :)

[darkstones.livejournal.com]

mutter mutter.