RBI and old coins

What the RBI actually says about old coins and notes

No — the RBI does not buy or sell old coins and notes, has authorised nobody to do it for them, and never asks for a fee. It said so in a press release on 4 August 2021. Almost every advance-fee coin scam in India uses the Reserve Bank’s name, so this page quotes the RBI itself — check it rather than take anyone’s word for it.

The paragraph that ends the argument

On 4 August 2021 the Reserve Bank of India issued a press release titled “RBI cautions the public not to fall prey to fictitious offers of buying/ selling of Old Banknotes and Coins”. This is the operative part:

“It is clarified that Reserve Bank of India does not deal in such matters and never seeks charges/ commissions of any sort. Reserve Bank of India has also not authorised any institution/ firm/ person etc. to collect charges/ commission on its behalf in such transactions.”
— Reserve Bank of India, Press Release 2021-2022/634, 4 August 2021

What that means in practice

There is nothing to register with. The RBI runs no seller registry for coins, so an “RBI registration fee” is a charge for a thing that does not exist.
There is no clearance to obtain. No RBI approval is needed to sell a coin, so “RBI clearance” and “RBI NOC” are inventions.
Nobody collects on its behalf. The release says so outright. Anyone claiming to collect a charge for the RBI is lying by definition.
The RBI does not buy your coin either. It does not deal in old banknotes and coins at all.

The same answer, in the RBI’s standing FAQ

This is not a one-off 2021 notice. The RBI’s Indian Currency FAQ, updated 15 April 2025, carries a permanent question — “Where can I sell my old banknotes and coins?” — and answers that the RBI does not deal in such matters, pointing back to the same press release.

Which coins are still legal tender

Worth knowing, because the fraud often opens by telling someone their coin has been “banned” or “recalled”. Per the same RBI FAQ, coins of 50 paise, ₹1, ₹2, ₹5, ₹10 and ₹20 remain legal tender. Only 25 paise and below were withdrawn, from 30 June 2011.

Does the RBI buy old notes?

No — the 2021 release above covers banknotes as well as coins. The RBI exchanges a note that is still legal tender at its face value and nothing more; it puts no collector price on any note. The old ₹500 and ₹1,000 notes withdrawn on 8 November 2016 are exchanged nowhere, the RBI included, and selling or buying them is against the law. On 6 November 2025 PIB Fact Check called fake the claim that “the RBI has issued new rules for exchanging old ₹500/₹1,000 notes”.

An “RBI approval letter” is a forgery

Any letter, certificate or “approval” carrying the RBI’s name, logo or seal that asks for money in a coin or note deal is fake. In a caution of 6 February 2012 the RBI said it does not call or email anyone asking for money or personal details, holds no accounts for individuals, and has one website, rbi.org.in. On 27 February 2026 PIB Fact Check flagged one such letter as fake: it promised ₹34 lakh for old coins after a ₹700 “form charge” and a ₹12,150 “delivery fee”. According to PIB, the RBI does not send letters or emails asking for money, fees or personal details.

If someone asks you for money, stop there. Registration, GST, TDS, insurance, GPS charges, “RBI notice pending” — the names change, the demand does not. A real buyer never asks the seller to pay anything.

If you have already paid

Call 1930, the national cyber-crime helpline, or report at cybercrime.gov.in. Do this first — money reported in the first hours is far more likely to be frozen.
File a written complaint at your local police station and keep the acknowledgement.
Forward the message to PIB Fact Check (factcheck.pib.gov.in), the government’s own fact-check unit, so the next person who gets it is warned.

See what coins actually sell for

Real listings, and the price each one sold or left at, with dates. The best answer to an invented number is a real one.

See sold prices

Last updated: 2026-10-04