When sending demonetized coins via Royal Mail 2nd Class Signed For (UK), would I be compensated for them if lost in the post?

Question

There's two issues here:
#1 Specifically, the old £1 coin will no longer be legal tender from Sunday midnight, and therefor would not be considered 'money' according to Royal Mail's own definition if I understand correctly. I have tried asking Royal Mail about this but the guy I was talking to didn't seem to know what he was talking about since he contradicted himself! First he said that it wouldn't be liable to compensation because it would not be legal tender and therefor worthless. Then when I asked him, if I had a receipt for how much I sold it for on Ebay and could therefor prove it's value, could I get compensated for that? He said, no, because it is still legal tender because banks still accept it! Personally I think that is BS because according to the Royal Mint, banks are under no obligation to accept it, although most will at least for a limited period of time, and they may charge a fee, so it's not guaranteed.

#2 They do not compensate for jewellery, and they define as jewellery '...jewellery includes: any precious metal that has been manufactured in such a way as to add value to the raw material, including coins used for ornament'. The coins I am talking about would not be made of precious metals, nor are they 'proof' coins finished to a high spec, or commemorative or limited edition. Rather these are coins that have been in circulation, have been demonetized, but worth more than their face value due to their rarity - say, up to £20.

Girlie Electrics · Accepted Answer

nope.
you use special delivery. nothing else carries compensation

http://www.royalmail.com/personal/uk-delivery/special-delivery

Who · Answer

not being "legal tender" does not mean it has no "value"
(so the bloke at the PO dont have clue what "legal tender" means, or the difference between "value" and "legal tender")

its "value" as a coin of the realm is still £1 - its just that it cannot be use to pay for something

(and legally "casey" if you now put an old £1 coin in an ebay auction and legitimately sold it for say £10 to a bone fide customer - if it was lost in the post you COULD claim £10 cos that would now be its value as its no longer "legal tender")

("therefor would not be considered 'money' according to Royal Mail's own definition"
 the PO can have any definition it likes- its irrelevant
the bank of england defines what"money" is- nobody else)

("legal tender" is just the coinage that can be used to pay a bill that the person you are paying cannot refuse to accept (its just the coins that can be used - ALL banknotes are legal tender)
 for example somebody can refuse to accept small coins such as 1p, 2p or 5p used to pay a bill of £1.20 but can  insist on £1 and the 20p in small change, cos in this case the 1,2 and 5 p on their own would not be legal tender to pay that bill

BUT they cannot refuse to accept £1 and 20p and insist on small change cos in this case the £1 and 20 p ARE "legal tender")

Casey Y · Answer

Are you insuring the post?  If not, then you get nothing anyway....

Your sale price from eBay does not imply inherent value...that's just what you were able to convince someone to pay for it....  I could put a coin on eBay, sell it to 10X the price anyone paid for it (to myself), send it in the post and expect to be compensated on the sale price....

Who puts actual money in the mail???

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When sending demonetized coins via Royal Mail 2nd Class Signed For (UK), would I be compensated for them if lost in the post?

3 Answers