£500m of old £1 coins still not handed in

SHOPPERS were yesterday rushing to spend £500million worth of “round pounds” before the midnight deadline as the coins were finally phased out.

From today, only new 12-sided coins are recognised as legal tender – 33 years after the old ones went into circulation.

The Royal Mint estimated half a billion worth of old £1 coins were still in circulation at the weekend.

A survey showed four in 10 people said half or more of the pounds in their wallets were the old type.

The Treasury said: “Businesses told us they wanted certainty on a cut-off date, which is why we introduced the deadline.”