Spend your old pound coins by 15th October.
It seems that every few months there’s a new note or coin entered into circulation by the Bank of England. Most recently we started seeing polymer £10 notes in our purses and wallets, but rewind 6 months and we were still struggling to spend our paper fivers and had just been introduced to a new, 12-sided pound coin.
Since then, the paper fiver has been removed from circulation and the Bank of England has announced a deadline to spend your old, round £1 coins.
By the way, that deadline is 15th October 2017.
This deadline presents a few issues… least of all how worried everyone is that hundreds of the old coins may be trapped down the back of every sofa in the country.
We’d like make sure the UK doesn’t go into meltdown over some coins due to be melted down. So here’s a handy list of points to remember in the coming days:
1) You can still spend the old round pound coins until the 15th in Supermarkets, convenience stores, petrol forecourts, cafés, coffee shops, bowling alleys or wherever else you spend your cash, they’ll all accept your round £1’s.
2) On that note, if you run a business you must accept the old coins all the way up to the deadline. Customers are being told to spend them however they please, so don’t be the awkward shop that isn’t playing the game as you’re likely to annoy your customers.
3) We made that sofa reference earlier in jest, but it’s worth checking every place you can think of that may be stashing pound coins. Draws, sofas, piggy banks, charity pots, winter coat pockets – check them all.
4) Once you’ve found a few (or more), decide what to do with them. As you’ve got until Sunday 15th, you have a lot of options. If you decide to put them in your purse or wallet to spend as and when, it might be a good idea to temporarily remove any new pound coins. Hopefully this will force you to spend the old ones and will save time at the till.
5) Feeling generous? Good. Give your coins away. Many charities are running campaigns to get the old pound coins donated for a good cause. The Royal Mint has teamed up with Children in Need to get the old pound coins out of circulation. We think the charity route is a great idea… Especially if reading this has made you realise it’s October and you haven’t given to charity in 2017 yet!
6) If you’re a big fan of the old coin, you might want to keep one or two as a keepsake. It’s unlikely to increase in value by any significant amount but we all know someone who has kept a £1 note since they went out of circulation in 1988.
7) If you like getting creative, you could even make some furniture from the old coins. Check out this bottle-cap table or this penny floor for some inspiration!
Okay, we think we’ve covered just about everything you could want to do with the old coins. Whatever you decide, just remember to do it before 15th October!
If you can think of any other great ideas, feel free to tweet us @YourCash!