End is nigh for old £1 coin

Time is running out to offload any round £1 coins in your wallets/purses – from 16th October, they will be worthless in shops, restaurants and other retailers. An estimated 500 million are thought to still be in circulation.

New 12-sided £1 coins were released in March. The Exchequer Secretary to the Treasury, Andrew Jones, MP, says: “The hard work of the British public has paid off and I am delighted that more than 1.2 billion round pound coins have been returned. Added together, these coins match the weight of around 3,500 elephants or 900 double decker buses. That is a lot of coins. There is still time to get involved and with just a week to go, I would encourage anyone who is yet to do so to dig out their remaining coins before Sunday.”

CEO and Deputy Master of The Royal Mint, Adam Lawrence, adds: “The round pound has been in circulation for over 30 years but, as the deadline approaches, we are keen to encourage everyone to track down their final coins and use them. After 15th October, the 12-sided £1 coin will be the only £1 coin being spent in the UK. As the deadline is triggered, we are proud that the security features on the 12-sided £1 coin will help to safeguard our currency for years to come.”

Disgruntled shoppers

Meanwhile, the BBC highlights unhappy shoppers who have been receiving the old coins from retailers. It quotes Robert Dalgleish, who received three old coins from Lidl, and asked: "Why aren't business outlets stopping this?"

And Eirlys Groves, who said she visited a branch of Tesco where machines gave old out coins as change, and then she was told by shop staff she could not swap them for new ones.