masterofnone
Well-Known Member
Long time since I've visited, can I use £ or do I need to exchange to CI £.
channel Isles currency
- Thread starter masterofnone
- Start date
Twister_Ken
Well-Known Member
Use Sterling.
richardsn9
Well-Known Member
CI money and sterling totally interchangeable over there, but try to avoid bringing CI notes back home as they can be hard to get rid of here.
deuc02
Well-Known Member
Deutchmarks if I remember. Or have the Germans moved out
JumbleDuck
Well-Known Member
Reichsmarks, surely?
earlybird
Well-Known Member
doug748
Well-Known Member
There are a couple of ATMs in St Peter Port that dish out UK money. If you need to top up it is worth finding them
deuc02
Well-Known Member
Not if he's going to Jersey.
Boathook
Well-Known Member
They always seem to hand out CI money as change. On my last night there a few years ago I managed to get all my change in sterling to avoid the hassel of changing it back at home.
lustyd
Well-Known Member
They are no different to Scottish notes so shops should accept them. Isle of Man is the only one which isn't legal currency over here. English notes are the only legal tender in England but the various other sterling notes should be accepted as currency in any UK shop.
All of these can be swapped in at your bank 1:1 with no charge if you don't fancy playing this game with shopkeepers, although I quite enjoy using "foreign" notes to test English barmen
The difference between legal currency and legal tender is that someone can turn down currency as payment of a debt but legal tender has to be accepted to settle up if offered. The reason IOM notes are not legal currency here is because there is no law requiring them to be backed by anything so in theory the IOM can print as many as they like.
JumbleDuck
Well-Known Member
I'm not quite clear about that. What would make a foreign currency "illegal"?
lustyd
Well-Known Member
Because the IOM bank can print as much as they like, there is no guarantee as to the worth of the notes. With other currencies there is a set of rules/laws saying how much they can print, when they can print it and why. This is generally based on how much "money" is in the "bank" multiplied by some number. In this case money is often borrowings from elsewhere which have been deposited, and bank is all of the banks in the country.
Basically, the IOM pound is considered too risky to accept as general currency just in case they go a bit mad and print a billion and come over here to spend it. With Guernsey, NI, Jersey, Scotland and Gib they are still Stirling and have the same rules as we do but are granted rights to print local notes so there is no more risk than with an English note. As I said though, the English note is the only one you'd be forced to accept as payment if someone owes you money. In Scotland they can refuse English notes but not Scottish.
Generally, legal currency is something you'd be unwise to say no to as a business since it's as good as legal tender.
Legal tender is something you're not allowed to say no to by law if someone owes you money (this is different to them wanting to buy something).
Everything else is pot luck, an English business can accept dollars if they like but this will cause them issues. If they accept IOM pounds then they must accept the risks associated with them.
Robin
Well-Known Member
Use up any CI loose change when back on the mainland in parking ticket machines or meters.
JumbleDuck
Well-Known Member
OK, I understand all that. But what's illegal about Manx currency in the UK?
macd
Well-Known Member
It's not "illegal" in the sense of being a crime. Nor did lustyd say it was. But it's not legal tender in that place called "Across"
Businesses/people are perfectly entitled to accept Manx currency, but usually don't. In some Irish Sea coastal towns, they're used to it and aware that it can be exchanged for sterling at no cost; but for the most part it may as well be rupees. If you ask retailers familiar with the currency why they'll refuse it, they'll often reply "because it doesn't say 'sterling' on the notes", (which it doesn't).
Lusty's explanation about the Manx currency not being required by law to be tied to bank deposits is correct (which necessarily doesn't mean the currency isn't sound.)
Businesses/people are perfectly entitled to accept Manx currency, but usually don't. In some Irish Sea coastal towns, they're used to it and aware that it can be exchanged for sterling at no cost; but for the most part it may as well be rupees. If you ask retailers familiar with the currency why they'll refuse it, they'll often reply "because it doesn't say 'sterling' on the notes", (which it doesn't).Lusty's explanation about the Manx currency not being required by law to be tied to bank deposits is correct (which necessarily doesn't mean the currency isn't sound.)
JumbleDuck
Well-Known Member
A-hem.
No arguments about the legal tender business. I still want to know what makes a foreign currency legal or illegal, though.
prv
Well-Known Member
I don't think the question makes any sense. What do you mean by a currency being "illegal"?
The only meaning that seems to make sense would be one which it is a criminal offence to possess, or to try to use (whether or not it's accepted). To the best of my knowledge there are no currencies to which that applies in the UK, nor would there be any reason to create such an offence.
Pete
halcyon
Well-Known Member
Without reading it all, are we into legal tender and what is not legal tender, Scottish and NI bank notes are not legal tender in England and Wales, though they can be excepted.
Brian
Stork_III
Well-Known Member
Scottish and NI bank notes are not legal tender in Scotland or NI either.
prv
Well-Known Member
Well, that's where we started, but Jumbleduck has introduced the concept of currencies being "illegal" and is now trying to get people to explain what that means. Which is tricky when it's something that he himself invented
Pete
