RBI and old coins

What the RBI actually says about old coins and notes

Almost every advance-fee coin scam in India uses the Reserve Bank’s name at some point. This page quotes what the RBI itself published, so you can 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 Only 25 paise and below were withdrawn, from 30 June 2011.

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.

See what coins actually sell for

Real listings, real prices paid, with dates. The best answer to an invented number is a real one.

See sold prices

Last updated: 2026-08-15