🪙 UK Coin Weight Calculator
Your coin jar, weighed without a scale.
Total weight
Estimates for planning only, not financial advice.
Ten 1ps, five 2ps, four 5ps, three 10ps, six 20ps, two 50ps, four pound coins and three two-pound coins: £12.90 in value, weighing 220.7 grams. The copper coins do the heavy lifting on the scale while contributing almost nothing to the value. That is the eternal truth of the coin jar.
How to Use This Calculator
Count your coins by denomination and enter each count. The calculator totals the value and the weight using Royal Mint specifications, no scale needed.
Sort coins by denomination. A quick sort takes two minutes and makes counting fast.
Enter each count. Estimates are fine; the weight is approximate anyway.
Read value and weight. Decide whether the trip to the bank is worth it.
Official Coin Weights
| Coin | Weight | Metal |
|---|---|---|
| 1p | 3.56 g | Copper-plated steel |
| 2p | 7.12 g | Copper-plated steel |
| 5p | 3.25 g | Nickel-plated steel |
| 10p | 6.50 g | Nickel-plated steel |
| 20p | 5.00 g | Nickel-plated steel |
| 50p | 8.00 g | Cupronickel |
| £1 (12-sided) | 8.75 g | Nickel-plated / brass |
| £2 | 12.00 g | Bimetallic |
Weights are Royal Mint specifications for current circulation coins; worn coins run slightly light and old round pounds (demonetised 2017) differ. The calculator uses these standard figures, accurate enough for jar math.
Worked Example
Using the default counts: value = 10x£0.01 + 5x£0.02 + 4x£0.05 + 3x£0.10 + 6x£0.20 + 2x£0.50 + 4x£1 + 3x£2 = £0.10 + £0.10 + £0.20 + £0.30 + £1.20 + £1.00 + £4.00 + £6.00 = £12.90. Weight = 35.6 + 35.6 + 13.0 + 19.5 + 30.0 + 16.0 + 35.0 + 36.0 = 220.7 g. The 1ps and 2ps alone contribute 71.2 g, nearly a third of the weight, for 20p of value. Bank the silvers, spend the coppers first.
What to Do With the Jar
UK banks accept bagged coins: standard bags are £1 for 1p/2p, £5 for 5p/10p, £10 for 20p/50p, £20 for £1/£2, and most banks credit full bags free for account holders. Coin-counting machines in supermarkets take around 7-10 percent commission, only worth it for small mixed amounts. Post Office branches handle coin deposits for many banks. Whatever the jar holds, getting it into an account beats letting inflation nibble it in a drawer.
Value Density: Why Coppers Are Dead Weight
A kilogram of 2p coins is worth about £2.81; a kilogram of £2 coins is worth about £166.67. Copper denominations are literally worth more as scrap metal debates than as money, which is why several countries abolished theirs. If you are carrying coins anywhere, spend the 1ps and 2ps first and save the weight. For the bigger question of what your pay actually leaves you, see our UK take-home pay calculator.
Check Your Change: Coins Worth More Than Face Value
Before you bank the jar, glance for the valuable ones. The 2009 Kew Gardens 50p is the famous prize: only 210,000 were minted, and circulated examples fetch £150 to £250. Other scarce 50ps include the 2011 Olympic wrestling (1.1 million mintage) and the 2018 Peter Rabbit series. Among £2 coins, the 2002 Commonwealth Games Northern Ireland and Wales variants command premiums. Even humble 1ps can surprise: the 1933 penny is one of Britain's rarest coins, though you will not find it in circulation.
Condition is everything: a rare coin pulled from circulation is worth a fraction of a mint-condition one, and cleaning a coin destroys its collector value permanently. If you spot a low-mintage coin, put it in a flip or envelope and check recent sold prices on eBay, not asking prices. Most jars contain nothing special, but the five-minute check is positive expected value: the Kew Gardens 50p alone would fund a lot of coin jars.
Banking the Jar: Practical Tips
Sort before you count: separating denominations makes counting faster and catches the foreign coins and old round pounds that always lurk at the bottom. Count into the standard bag sizes (£1 of coppers, £5 of 5p/10p, £10 of 20p/50p, £20 of £1/£2) and this calculator's weight estimate tells you whether the jar is worth the trip before you leave the house. A jar under £10 might wait; a jar over £50 should go this week, because idle cash is a small guaranteed loss to inflation.
Mind the fakes and the duds. Counterfeit £1 coins (the old round ones) still turn up in jars; banks will confiscate them without compensation, so spend suspicious coins at shops, not at the bank counter. Damaged, bent, or heavily corroded coins can be refused; the Royal Mint's mutilated-coin service handles the truly destroyed ones by post. And check dates as you sort: pre-decimal coins are worthless as money but occasionally interesting to collectors, so a quick glance beats blind bagging.
Weigh, Count, Bank
Your coin jar is a small interest-free loan to nobody, so weigh it, count it, and bank it. Use the calculator to estimate the jar's value from its weight, sort into standard bags, and deposit them free at your bank rather than feeding a coin machine's 10 percent commission. Check for the rare ones first, spend the coppers first, and put the proceeds somewhere they earn: even a modest jar compounds once it leaves the glass.
Estimates for planning only, not financial advice.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does a 1p coin weigh?
3.56 grams. The 2p weighs exactly double at 7.12 g. Both are copper-plated steel. A full £1 bag of 1ps (100 coins) weighs 356 g plus the bag. Pre-1992 1p and 2p coins were solid bronze and slightly heavier, so very old coppers in the jar nudge the total up.
How much does a £2 coin weigh?
12 grams, the heaviest UK circulation coin. The 12-sided £1 weighs 8.75 g and the 50p weighs 8 g. The 20p is the lightest silver coin at 5 g. The £2's bimetallic build (nickel-brass center, cupronickel ring) is what gives it that satisfying heft.
How can I weigh coins without a scale?
Multiply your count of each denomination by its official weight and sum them. That is exactly what this calculator does using Royal Mint specifications. Worn coins run slightly light, so treat the total as approximate. For a quick sanity check, weigh a counted sample on a kitchen scale: if it matches within a few percent, your counts are right.
What is a full bag of coins worth?
Standard UK coin bags: £1 for 1p and 2p, £5 for 5p and 10p, £10 for 20p and 50p, £20 for £1 and £2 coins. Banks supply the bags and credit full bags to your account, usually free. Part-filled bags are fine too; the bank weighs or counts them, though full bags clear fastest.
Where can I cash in coins in the UK?
Your bank (bagged, usually free), Post Office branches (for participating banks), and supermarket coin machines (around 7-10% commission). For large amounts, the bank is always the cheapest route. Coin machines make sense only for small mixed handfuls where bagging is not worth the effort.
Are old round pound coins still valid?
No. The round pound was demonetised in October 2017 and is no longer legal tender, though the Royal Mint will still exchange them. The current 12-sided bimetallic £1 weighs 8.75 g. If you find round pounds in the jar, swap them at the bank rather than spending them: shops no longer have to accept them.
Why are 1p and 2p coins so heavy?
They are steel with copper plating, and copper denominations need size to feel like money. Their value density is terrible: £1 in 2ps weighs 356 g. The government has repeatedly reviewed whether to abolish them. Cash-rounding proposals surface every few years; until one passes, spend coppers first and save your pockets.
How many coins make a kilogram?
About 281 1p coins, 140 2p coins, 308 5p coins, 200 20p coins, 125 50p coins, 114 £1 coins, or 83 £2 coins. Mixed jars land wherever the copper-to-silver ratio puts them. A jar that feels surprisingly heavy for its size is copper-dominated, which usually means it is worth less than it weighs.
Do banks charge for coin deposits?
Most UK high-street banks accept bagged coins from account holders free of charge. Business accounts may have cash-handling fees above thresholds. Coin machines are the expensive option at up to 10%. If your branch has closed, Post Office counters handle deposits for most major banks; check your bank's arrangement first.
Is it worth saving coins?
As savings, no: jars earn nothing and inflation erodes them. As a budgeting trick, maybe: the friction of a jar stops impulse spending for some people. Either way, bank the jar yearly and put it somewhere it earns interest. The average UK coin jar holds around £50 to £100; in a 4% savings account that is £2 to £4 a year for zero effort.