Study finds
As the new 12-sided £1 coins come into circulation next week, Gocompare.com Moneyhas found that Britain has a collective £420m worth of soon-to-be useless currency in coin jars and glove boxes.
New research commissioned by the comparison site reveals that nearly half (49 per cent) of Brits say they have £1 coins lying around in the house and in their cars – worth a collective £420m.
Those who don’t round-up up their old £1 coins, could lose an average of £17.55 each when the currency becomes worthless in a just few months’ time.
The survey** of 2,000 UK adults found;
- 18 per cent of adults have £1 coins in pots of loose change lying around their home;
- 13 per cent say their kids keep £1 coins in their piggy banks;
- 17 per cent of Brits keep £1 coins in their car to use in supermarket trolleys;
- 15 per cent of people keep £1 coins in the glove box of their car to pay for parking;
- 14 per cent say they have pound coins down the back of the sofa.
Matt Sanders from Gocompare.com Moneycommented, “The new state-of-the-art, £1 coin will be rolled out on 28 March 2017. Heralded as the most secure in the world, the new coin has a range of security features against counterfeits.
“To allow for the change, from the end of March to mid-October both the old and new £1 coins will be in circulation at the same time and will be accepted by shops and banks. After 15 October 2017, the old £1 coins will no-longer be legal tender.
“So, if you’ve got a collection of old style £1 coins in a piggy bank, coin jar or if you keep some in the car to pay for parking or to use to release the lock on a supermarket trolley – you’ll need to round them up and either spend them or pay them into the bank before the October cut-off date. Otherwise, you could be left out of pocket.”
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