David’s Story

Finding value in old and disused coins

In an increasingly digital world it can seem like cash is losing its place in society. But for charities, coins and notes of any type – old, foreign and discontinued – can be a great source of fundraised income. There’s a process – and something of an art – to extracting the true value of coins and currency. At Rennie Grove Peace this role is done by volunteer, David, who started working with coins around 18 months ago. Here he tells us more about his role and how it makes a difference to Rennie Grove Peace. David explains:  

“I’m not a coin collector, I never have been. But I’ve worked in finance and accounts roles during my career so when a previous volunteering project I had been doing ended, I was happy to take on the challenge of dealing with a backlog of donated foreign and discontinued coins and notes.  

“Around 18 months ago Rennie Grove Peace had a big accumulation of coins that had been donated in various ways over the years – sometimes foreign or discontinued coins are found in collection buckets or tins and sometimes they’re donated via our shops.  

“The fundraising team knew there was value in the coins but it would take a lot of time and patience to help the coins realise that value and that’s where I come in. The fundraising team wouldn’t have time to do this as well as everything else they do, but as a volunteer I have the time to focus on this one task.  

Selling coins for vital cash!

“I started by researching companies that exchange foreign currency coins for cash. If you’ve been abroad and come home with notes, you might be able to change those back at the bank or Post Office. But it’s not the same with coins. So we work with a company that buys a whole range of foreign currency coins for cash.  

“The company offers free postage and packaging if the value of the coins you send to them exceeds a certain amount. So I work through the coins until I have a bundle that meets this value threshold. I then package them up and send them off to the company and a week or so later they credit our account with the value of them.  

“As I give my time to do this role – and we don’t pay postage and packaging on the heavy parcels of coins – it’s a way of fundraising for the charity that doesn’t have overheads. To date we’ve generated around £2000 in income from this activity.  

“As well as foreign currencies, I also extract value from old or discontinued coins and notes. This part of the role is where it gets really interesting as there’s not just one way to make money from them. When I find old or discontinued coins I research the best way to generate income from them. Sometimes that’s selling them to a dealer and other times it’s literally the value of the silver they’re made from that makes them useful to us. I do a lot of research to find the value of the coins – I look at what they’re selling for elsewhere online and also speak to dealers and auctioneers. 

Discovering pieces of history

“The oldest coin I’ve found was from the time of Elizabeth I, in the 16th century! You might think that would be worth a lot but unfortunately it is in poor condition and therefore not worth a great deal. I’ve also found a few George III coins. It’s so interesting when you discover something like that.  

“For me, that’s the best bit about this role. When I delve into a bag of coins I just never know what I’m going to find! I also like the challenge of it. When I started and there was a huge accumulation of coins to get through it looked like a pretty mammoth task. But I’ve enjoyed the satisfaction of turning those old coins into money for the charity.  

“We’re now getting towards the end of the current backlog so I’m really keen for people to keep donating coins and notes. They can be donated via our shops or dropped off at our offices. We would love to receive any foreign currency as well as old or discontinued coins and notes of any currency. If you’ve got a bag of old coins or wad of notes stuck in a drawer somewhere at home, we could help turn them into money to fund the services that Rennie Grove Peace offers to local people who need support.”