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Last chance to spend old £1 coins

Paloma Kubiak
Written By:
Paloma Kubiak
Posted:
Updated:
13/10/2017

Shoppers have till the end of Sunday to spend their round £1 coins before they lose their legal tender status.

After 15 October, retailers will no longer accept the old £1 coins so only the new 12-sided £1 coin will be in use. And given the fact that banks tend to be closed on Sunday’s while larger retailers close by 5pm, you may need to spend them earlier than the midnight deadline.

Banks and retailers started receiving the new 12-sided £1 coin in March and in six months, more than 1.2 billion old coins have been returned. However, millions of pounds worth of £1 coins are still in circulation so it’s time to raid your and your children’s piggy banks.

What happens after Sunday?

While the old £1 coins will lose their legal tender status, you may still be able to exchange the old £1 coin at most high street banks including RBS, NatWest, Ulster, HSBC, Barclays, Lloyds, Santander, Nationwide, Clydesdale, Yorkshire Bank, Halifax, Bank of Scotland and The Post Office, as long as you have an account with them. The banks may also impose deposit limits so it is best to check before you go.

The Royal Mint said these banks are under no obligation to exchange coins with non-customers and urges consumers to spend or exchange the round pound before then.

You can also donate to charity such as the Pudsey’s Round Pound Countdown.

Around one in 30 old round pounds is believed to be a counterfeit which is why the new 12-sided, “most secure coin in the world” was introduced earlier in the year.