> I thought it was the other way round, eg paying £150 in 2p coins.
That's is indeed the law
http://www.tclayton.demon.co.uk/dec.html
1 and 2 GBP coins are legal tender to any amount.
20p and 50p coins are legal tender up to a total value of 10 pounds. 5p
and 10p coins are legal tender up to a total value of 5 pounds. 1p and
2p coins are legal tender up to a total of 20 pence.
Mind you, legal tender is an odder concept than you might think. No one
has to accept pounds unless there is a pre-existing debt (so
restaurants but not ordinary stores) and no one is legally obliged to
give change.
http://www.bankofengland.co.uk/banknotes/legaltender.htm
Cotton, William (1786-1866) Title Everybody's Guide to Money Matters:
(
http://www.gutenberg.org/etext/1903 )
"No one, however, can be compelled to give change; that is to say, if
you owe a person £4 15s., you are bound in strict law to pay him that
exact sum."
