You’ve only got 100 days to get rid of your old one pound coins – what to do if you have any round £1 left
BRITONS are being urged to get rid off their old £1 coins before they become worthless later this year.
The new £1 coin was released into circulation on March 28 2017.
From March until September will be what is known as a ‘co-circulation’ period, during which both old and new £1 coins can be accepted.
Now coins experts at are warning that Friday will mark exactly 100 days until the old round coins, which been in circulation for the more than 30 years, lose their legal tender status.
Here’s what you can do if you still have some old pound coins left:
Spend it
The obvious way to trade in your round £1 coins is to spend them.
Any retail outlet will accept round £1 coins up to and including Sunday October 15.
Exchange it
Experts have advised that you can take £1 coins to banks to change for notes as long as they are in bags of 20.
MOST READ IN MONEY
You may also be able to exchange them at the bank or Post Office if you hold an account there. But again, it’s best to check ahead of time.
Sell it
In recent months, The Sun Online’s inbox has been flooded with emails from readers who think they’ve found a rare – and possibly valuable – coin.
Meanwhile, hundreds of new £1 coins have been listed on eBay with sellers claiming they too are rare.
As a general rule of thumb, the rarer the coin the more valuable it is, and we’ve also published a £1 scarcity index, based on data from Checkcheker, so you can find out the value of each of the 24 £1 coin design.
Think you’ve got a rare coin? Here’s our guide to find out if it’s worth a mint and cash in
“As people add these coins to their collection and more are removed from circulation by the banks, they become significantly rarer,” experts at Changechecker said on Wednesday.
“In change collecting the rarity of a coin has an impact on its value, some of the rarest £1 coins can sell for up to 35 times their face value on auction sites” they added.
The Sun Online has also previously shown which error coins can bag you the most dosh, including the 2012 London Olympics Aquatics 50p coin which could fetch more than £1,000.
What to do you if you've got a rare coin?
FIRSTLY, you need to make sure the coin is legit and not counterfeit.
Around one in every four old £1 coins were thought to be fake, according to the Royal Mint, so there are probably more fakers in your spare change then you realise.
The Royal Mint is unable to value a coin but it can confirm whether it is real or not. They will usually supply you with a letter to confirm this.
Once you’ve found out whether the coin is real or not, you have a number of options – either selling it through a coin dealer, at auction or on eBay.
Collect it
If monetary value isn’t your motivation, by collecting the round £1 coins, Changechecker says you "will be owning a genuine piece of British history" something to be passed down the generations.
We pay for your stories! Do you have a story for The Sun Online Money team? Email us at [email protected] or call 0207 78 24516