Half a croissant, on a plate, with a sign in front of it saying '50c'
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Free money for charity

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If you buy a special edition 'poppy' £5 coin the company producing them donate 17p to the Royal British Legion.
The coin is legal tender and costs £5.
The RBL must have some money in the bank, let's say £5 million to keep things simple.
They could buy 1 million of these coins, which they would pay straight back into their bank account. Now all they have to do is wait for their £170,000 donation.
Repeat ad infinitum.
MikeOliver, Jan 17 2013

Poppy Coin http://www.westmins...O7rQCFW7HtAod-HQAYg
[MikeOliver, Jan 17 2013]

The Royal Mint http://www.royalmint.com/
Licensed to stamp out money … [8th of 7, Jan 17 2013]

[link]






       Fraud.
UnaBubba, Jan 17 2013
  

       Sounds somewhat like a "scrip" fundraiser, but without any benefit for the copany producing the coins.
scad mientist, Jan 17 2013
  

       ah.... somewhere in there you could have inserted "so the idea is..."
FlyingToaster, Jan 17 2013
  

       This is Quantitative Easing through alternate channels - if you accept QE as acceptable, it may be further acceptablised by making charitable organisations the primary benefactees, instead of the banking industry.
zen_tom, Jan 17 2013
  

       You did catch the "legal tender only in Jersey" note, right? And yes, I know the Jersey Pound is nominally exchangeable 1:1 with Sterling, I suspect you might have a problem with this one, since there is no 5 Pound Sterling coin.
MechE, Jan 17 2013
  

       // the company producing them //   

       That would be the Royal Mint.   

       Actually, there is a £5 sterling coin. They come in a wide range of designs and are aimed at the collector's market.   

       <link>
8th of 7, Jan 17 2013
  

       If it's like the 'charity strikings' occasionally produced by the US Mint, the donation comes out of the 'face value' (i.e. retail cost) of the coin, meaning that a charity buying its own coins is just moving money around and probably paying bank fees.
Alterother, Jan 17 2013
  

       Is it the royal mint for Jersey, or do they have their own. And I guess I should have said no general circulation 5 Pound coin.   

       Which does mean the idea seems valid assuming you could find a place that actually would exchange these for other currency (which it appears to be that you should, but probably can't). I also suspect there is a relatively limited supply.   

       [Alter] The point is that the coin is legal tender for it's selling price, despite the donation (at least if you live in Jersey). So there is no face value gain.
MechE, Jan 17 2013
  

       // //The company producing them//   

       That would be the Royal Mint //   

       Trading as 'The Westminster Collection'.
MikeOliver, Jan 17 2013
  
      
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