Acceptance of new pound coins in ticket machines

[whole diary]

[ChrisB]

I suspect many if not the majority of TVMs^▸ (Ticket Vending Machine) are in the 'old' variety

[Bmblbzzz]

Where are these TVMs^▸ (Ticket Vending Machine) that accept cash of any variety? 

[TonyK]

I haven't put a coin in a TVM^▸ (Ticket Vending Machine) since - nope, can't remember. For a start, you don't get cashback using the old fashioned "hand money". Then you have to have the right stuff in your pocket, not falling down your trouser leg because of the hole all that metal has worn in your trouser pockets.

That said, I shall be off down Sainsbury with all my old pound coins very soon. The last I did that, half of them didn't work in the machine first time, and a couple wouldn't work at all. There are many duds in circulation, hence the change.

[grahame]

From the GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) website

New £5 and £10 notes and £1 coins

As we are sure you will know already, the Bank of England have recently introduced new £5 polymer notes, and new £1 coins and £10 polymer notes will also be released in March and September.

All of our ticket machines should be able to accept these by October 2017. But, in the meantime, please continue to use the older notes and coins if you have them. You can also buy tickets through our website, mobile app or any staffed ticket office.

We apologise for any inconvenience this may cause.

Question just asked of me:   As it says "All of our ticket machines should be able to accept these by October 2017" does that means that machines like the one at Melksham, which at present only accepts debit and credit cards, will be accepting cash in the form of new style notes and pound coins by October?   I suspect not ... but it kinda says cash accepted by all TVMs^▸ (Ticket Vending Machine) henceforth.

[John R]

The old £5 ceases to be legal tender after the 5th May, although retailers can accept it at their discretion. Might be a good way to get rid of any found lying around after that date.

[ChrisB]

No, I suspect it should read that the machines that currently accept notes & cash will all be converted by October.....and don't expect any of them before the £10 polymer comes in either....and once c onverted, you'll need to use the £10 polymer only, even though the £10 paper note will still have a few months validity left then.

[LiskeardRich]

The car parking machines at liskeard are accepting the new coins. So they've been done by whoever is responsible

[ChrisB]

APCOA^▸ (Car parking company used at GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) - controlled stations in the area)?

[PhilWakely]

The car parking machines at liskeard are accepting the new coins. So they've been done by whoever is responsible

I've been told that it is only a software update for the new £1 coin, although I hesitate to believe that comment.

[LiskeardRich]

The car parking machines at liskeard are accepting the new coins. So they've been done by whoever is responsible

I've been told that it is only a software update for the new £1 coin, although I hesitate to believe that comment.

They sort by size and weight for coins. It depends whether it works mechanically or electronically. If the latter then yes it will be a software update. If the earlier the coin sorter will need a physical upgrade.

[chrisr_75]

I used a privately operated car park machine over the weekend with a mixture of old and new pound coins, so it can be done!

[Chris from Nailsea]

Two weeks ago, I tried to use several of the new one pound coins in a public car park ticket vending machine in the centre of Exeter.

It spat all of them out - but then accepted, without question, every one of the old style coins - including a couple which I thought looked a bit dodgy. 

[Chris from Nailsea]

An interesting development, from the BBC^» (British Broadcasting Corporation - home page):

Royal Mint admits faulty £1 coins are in circulation

Some new £1 coins - introduced into circulation last month as the "most secure coin in the world" - may be defective, the Royal Mint has admitted.

It said that a "small number of coins" were affected when they were struck at a rapid rate during production.

The Royal Mint is striking 1.5 billion new 12-sided £1 coins, introduced to help crack down on counterfeiting.

Out of shape versions of the coin, considered collectors' items, are appearing on internet auction sites.

The Sun newspaper has spoken to a number of people reporting warped coins, although doubts have been raised about the cause of reported highly-damaged coins.

A spokeswoman for the Royal Mint, which produces three million new £1 coins a day at its headquarters in Llantrisant, South Wales, said: "The Royal Mint produces around five billion coins each year, and will be striking 1.5 billion new £1 coins in total. As you would expect, we have tight quality controls in place, however variances will always occur in a small number of coins, particularly in the striking process, due to the high volumes and speed of production."

The Mint has claimed the new £1 is the "most secure coin in the world", replacing the previous £1 coin, of which about one in 40 are thought to be fake.

Philip Munsell, director of Coin News magazine, told the BBC that only a tiny minority of these new coins would be affected, but that fact made them highly collectable. "The thing about the Royal Mint is that they are very, very good with their quality control, so therefore if you have something that has passed through without being quality checked then it is likely to be collectable, it is likely to therefore be worth more than one pound," he said.

He said that if the middle of the two-piece £1 coin was missing, it would not get through the quality checks.

The new coin has a string of anti-counterfeiting details, including material inside the coin itself which can be detected when electronically scanned by coin-counting or payment machines.

Other security measures include an image that works like a hologram, and micro-sized lettering inside both rims.

However, it is not the first currency launch to have hit problems in recent months.

Vegans and some religious groups have voiced concerns about the new polymer £5 note introduced in September last year, as it contains a small amount of tallow, which is derived from meat products.

Meanwhile, the old £1 coin remains as legal tender until 15 October this year, after which shops are under no obligation to accept it.

The new £1 coin: Vital statistics

Thickness: 2.8mm - thinner than old coin

Weight: 8.75g - lighter than old coin

Diameter: 23.43mm - larger than old coin

Number to enter circulation: 1.5 billion - about 23 per person. Old £1 coins will be melted down to make new ones

Outer ring: gold-coloured, made from nickel-brass

Inner ring: silver-coloured, made from nickel-plated alloy

[LiskeardRich]

The car parking machines at liskeard are accepting the new coins. So they've been done by whoever is responsible

Interestingly the car park at Bodmin parkway doesn't accept them. I also noticed Bodmin parkway car park now has signs saying "reverse parking only"

[stuving]

Today I approached one of the TVMs^▸ (Ticket Vending Machine) at Wokingham (noting that it's been mended), intending to get rid of two old pound coins (given to me a few days ago in Waitrose, no doubt inadvertently). It wouldn't take either of them, so presumably it will now only accept new ones. I don't think that was true previously, after the new ones were make acceptable.