Hunting for coins for gas/electric/TV meters.


Recommended Posts

Talking to a Lady at work t'other day & she puts pound coins in a meter on her TV, the bloke comes once a month to empty it, takes £16 for the rent & gives her the rest back. I said "but you can buy a TV from Aldi for about £130, that's a lot less the you'd pay in a year!" But she couldn't see the economics of it..

I suppose that's no different to when TV rental from the likes of Rediffusion was very popular. I can't remember how much I used to pay for mine. I think the attraction was if the TV broke down it didn't cost you anything to have it repaired - I think they were less reliable in those days (pre-1980s).

Link to post
Share on other sites
  • Replies 74
  • Created
  • Last Reply

Top Posters In This Topic

Top Posters In This Topic

Popular Posts

This is the new £1 coin. It's designed like this so it can be extracted from a Yorkshireman's hand with a spanner.

According to the news, there are 200,000 £1 coins recently put into circulation that were actually a trial run, and subsequently are dated 2016, although the official release date is 2017. I've just c

I love being one of the bad lads.

I paid £400 for ours (32"Toshiba) in 2008 with a free 5 year warranty, it's still going strong, if it went 'phut' tomorrow it wouldn't owe me nowt, I'd just go & get a cheapo one from Aldi or somewhere similar. Got a 20 inch tube telly in the bedroom we paid £89 for in 2002, working perfect with a cheapo £10 digi-box... Sandra at work says the meter on her telly helps her to save, how? I don't know..

Link to post
Share on other sites

I bought a 27" colour television in 1995 with some of my redundancy money from the Brush

I got rid of it Christmas 2013 still working, when I bought a 42" L.G. H.D. with 3D option (unused)

  • Upvote 1
Link to post
Share on other sites

I remember a 'nightmare' winter evening in the early 1950's. In those days, pennies were generally known as 'coppers' and we were short of 'coppers' for the meter, so as on many other occasions, my mother sent me across the road to the shop armed with half a crown; for "some coppers for the meter".

There were 2 white coated women, who decided to play dumb. They kept saying they did not understand. Over the next 20 or so minutes, I was buffeted back and forth between mother and these two white coated old trolls with the same message and return message. I thought it would never end. After more than 60 years I still get flash backs. ;-)

  • Upvote 1
Link to post
Share on other sites

I remember booking a delightful country cottage in Cornwall for a week (well that's what the add said !)

Took my wife and young kids and when we got there it was a single wall breeze block construction, more like a shed than a cottage, It was in the middle of a field, and it was raining as it does often, down there and all the walls were damp, the beds were damp, so I tried to put on the two small electric heaters and they wouldn't work !

After looking around we found the electric meter, which was a private one, and took 50p coins, well, the word was ate 50p coins very rapidly !

I had to drive over to the office to get some change as we depleted our supply of coins very quickly.

Nearly ended in a divorce, it was so bad, we lasted 3 days, of the week booked, when we complained the owner could see nothing wrong !

One last happy memory of that disaster was one morning the kids playing in the sand on the beach, in their packamac type things, with wellies on oblivious to the incessant rain. While mum and dad stood under my big golf umbrella that I luckily kept in the boot of the car.

We still have that photo which I took at the time.

  • Upvote 1
Link to post
Share on other sites
  • 2 years later...

Talking to a youngster this morning about ice cream. When I told her that we used by the ice cream in a paper wrapper and put a wafer on each side to make an 'ice cream sandwich' she thought I was pulling her leg. Just could not persuade her that an ice cream sandwich was a real thing.

  • Upvote 1
Link to post
Share on other sites

Hopefully it's not available in Scotland, or we'll never get the correct change !

  • Upvote 1
Link to post
Share on other sites

I remember the old shilling meter, my mother had a selection of assorted foreign coins & washers to use when she was a bit skint (often) When the meter man emptied the meter every quarter she would get those back in her (rebate). As far as I remember nearly everyone on the street did that as well.

Link to post
Share on other sites

Wish I had that actual coin, I think it might be worth a bit more than a quid....  it's dated 2014!

  • Upvote 1
Link to post
Share on other sites

No, but I've been searching all my old trousers, jackets and jeans, various cubbyholes, under cushions and in various 'savings ' pots in order to get rid sharpish. Yes, I know I've got till October !

Evidently, they are only to be released in certain cities, and only certain banks too. The nearest was the Birmingham area I believe.

Link to post
Share on other sites

Paul and I are putting any (old) pound coins that we have at the end of each day into a 'piggy bank' so that we should have quite a lot to take into the Bank before the deadline in October.  We've got £7 worth already!

Link to post
Share on other sites
  • 3 weeks later...

According to the news, there are 200,000 £1 coins recently put into circulation that were actually a trial run, and subsequently are dated 2016, although the official release date is 2017. I've just checked my small change, and have got five. 

I looked on eBay, and several are going for just over £1 , but one clown is asking £80,000 for one. I'll hang on to them just in case !

  • Upvote 2
Link to post
Share on other sites
  • 2 weeks later...

Another thing I've just remembered... When the electric meter was jam packed full & your Mam & Dad were shaking & belting it to get some more shillings/2 shillings/50P's in, same with the TV meter. Can't ever remember the gas meter getting jam packed full though, mind you we only had a cooker that ran on gas...

Link to post
Share on other sites

In the early 1960s it was a shilling for the meter. In our shop people were always asking for them in their change, and I remember on Saturday mornings my mother would send me to the bank to get a couple of bagfuls of them. The days when banks closed at - I think - 1130am on Saturdays.

Link to post
Share on other sites

I can't remember penny meters, they were shilling then 50 pence for electric, shilling or 2 shillings (dual meter) for gas & a tanner (2 1/2 pence) then 2 bob for the telly. Mam went on quarterly for electric in early 70's & bought a colour telly so no more telly meter, gas was bob & 2 bob for a few more years. 

 

I had a card electric meter when I rented a house in early 90's, was a right pain in the rear. All direct debit now..

Link to post
Share on other sites

52/53 the gas was a 1d I well remember the collector counting the coins on the table and wrapping them in paper rolls, he would then give mum her rebate of a few coppers and with a bit of luck I might get the odd one or two to spend on 'chews' at the corner shop, 4 for a penny in them days.

 

Just had a thought his leather bag must have been bloody heavy at the end of the day.

Link to post
Share on other sites

The bank I used to work at in 1973 had the contract with EMGAS and EMELEC to pay in all the 5p and 10p coins they had collected from the meters. The bank employed a guy whose full time job was putting them a counting machine and bagging them uo

Link to post
Share on other sites

Don't know what I'd do nowadays as I hardly ever use cash, only time is when I go to the pub or pay on the door at line dance socials, mind you a lot of pubs take cards, usually minimum £5 spend...

Link to post
Share on other sites
  • 4 months later...

Well I'm flummoxed as to exactly how many new coins were issued dated 2016. I initially heard that it was 200,000, but I've been checking most of what I've been handed in change, and I've already nearly 100, and I've received them from virtually all areas of the country too. 

Link to post
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

Loading...