The announcement was made as Andrew Jones MP, Exchequer Secretary to the Treasury, visited a coin storage facility in Belfast on Wednesday, where more than £350,000 worth of coins are processed and redistributed daily, to banks and businesses across Northern Ireland.
He said: “To have more new coins in circulation than old at this point is great news and I’m pleased to see progress on this in Belfast’s Coin Store.
“However, with less than 100 days to go, the clock is ticking. We are urging the public to spend, bank or donate their old pound coins and asking businesses who are yet to do so, to update their systems before the old coin ceases to be legal tender.”
The 12-sided £1 coin, which became legal tender at the end of March, is being produced by The Royal Mint in South Wales. The round £1 coins are being returned to the factory, of which some will be reused to make the new coins.
Adam Lawrence, chief executive and deputy master of The Royal Mint, said: “The Royal Mint is very proud to have delivered the new 12-sided £1 pound coin and ensuring a smooth transition is now our top priority. We hope our announcement about the changeover point in July will encourage those businesses who have not yet upgraded their equipment to do so ahead of the 15 October deadline.
“The new 12-sided £1 coin was brought in to tackle the rise of counterfeit coins, which cost businesses and the taxpayers across the UK millions of pounds every year. With less than three months to go before the round pound loses legal tender status, it is vital that the public continue to return their old pound coins.”
You can read more about the Royal Mint and British coin manufacturing history within the ‘Great British Factories’ section of WM’s May 2017 magazine. Alternatively, to view it online, click here and go to page 55.
