Last night I was working out the metal value of UK coins - exciting, I know. On my other blog - a blog I've now decided to archive - I used to occasionally chart the metal value of the copper 2p coins. It was a little trivial and poindextery, but I found it interesting. The fact that the copper in the coin was worth more than the face value of the coin really fascinated me, and it was a very hands-on illustration of inflation.
I stopped doing it after a while - it was too tedious even for me. However, every now and then it re-grabs my attention, and I find myself curious to know where things stand at the present time.
When I last left off - way back in March 2012 - the value of the copper 2p was 3.7p.
(Copper 1p and 2p coins)
I should note that the 2p coins minted since 1992 have been copper-plated steel, so it's the pre-1992 ones that we're interested in. The steel ones will stick to a magnet if you want an easy way of differentiating.
Also this all applies to the 1p coins too (they're exactly half the weight as you'd expect).
Incidentally I started tracking the 5p coins back then as well. These are cupro-nickel - 75% copper, 25% nickel. This time pre-2012 (from 2012 onwards these too became nickel-plated steel).
(Likewise it's the same case for the 10p coins, which are the same as the 5p, just double the weight.)
The 5p value back then was 2.3p. I can't remember if this was just the copper, or the copper plus the nickel content, it's so long ago. Though I'm guessing I would've included both.
Anyway, what are the prices today?
This time I added the 20p and 50p to the list. Inflation is bad, but it's not quite that bad. Still, I thought it would be interesting.
These are the coin specifications:
2p: Copper up until 1992. 97% copper 2.5% zinc, 0.5% tin. Weight 7.12g.
5p: Cupro-nickel prior to 2012. 75% copper, 25% nickel. Weight: 3.25g.
20p: Currently still cupro-nickel. 84% copper, 16% nickel. Weight: 5g.
50p: Currently still cupro-nickel. 75% copper, 25% nickel. Weight: 8.0g.
The actual metal values as of today (or last night rather):
2p: 4.7p (I'm ignoring the 3% zinc/tin content)
5p: 3.2p
20p: 4.3p
50p: 7.9p
So things have changed since 2012, but not stratospherically. The 5p is slowly but surely heading towards its face value.
Of course, metal prices can jump around a bit, for various reasons, so this can't be a true measure of inflation. It's a useful consideration though.
I've actually started collecting these coins. Not in a major way, and I don't expect them to be worth much. However, they are becoming historic. Especially in this age of digitisation. So it seems like something people currently undervalue.
