The study of 1,003 respondents with children aged 4-14, conducted on behalf of Smyths Toys, found that more than half say their children have five or more old £1 coins sitting in their piggybanks. The children’s toy provider says that with a population of 18.5 million under 16 year olds, this indicates that more than £92 million old pound coins are set to go out of circulation.
The new 12-sided £1 coin became legal tender in March and is produced by the Royal Mint in South Wales. The old, round £1 coins have been phased out in recent months with some being returned to the factory and reused to make the new coins.
They won’t be accepted by shops and can only be deposited in banks after the 15 October. Smyths Toys warns that deposit limits vary from bank-to-bank and a lot of the hard-earned £1 coins could easily go to waste.
Andrew Jones MP, Exchequer Secretary to the Treasury, urged the public to spend, bank or donate their old pound coins in July during a visit to a coin storage facility in Belfast, where more than £350,000 worth of coins are processed and redistributed daily, to banks and businesses across Northern Ireland.
Children set to lose £92m as the UK waves goodbye to the round pound
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Children in the UK are set to lose millions of pounds in October when the old £1 coin is no longer in circulation, research has claimed.
