Out with the old: Just one weekend left to spend your round pounds.

Banks, stores and post offices will still accept old coin, despite deadline

Shoppers have only this weekend left before the old round pound rolls out of general circulation – with hundreds of millions of coins still to be handed in.

While some stores will let people continue spending their round pounds for a limited extra period, the coins will no longer be legal tender from midnight tomorrow.

Around 400 to 450 million old round coins are still lying around in wallets, pockets and piggy banks up and down the country, after people have been returning them at a rate of up to 60 million per week.

Major banks and building societies have said they will continue to accept deposits after tomorrow.

Martin Kearsley, banking services director at the Post Office, added: “Thanks to an agreement with all UK high street banks, everyone can deposit old pound coins into their usual high street bank account at their local Post Office branch.”

Some major stores have said they will give shoppers an extra window of opportunity to spend their old pound coins.

Iceland and Poundland have said they will continue to accept the coins until October 31, while Tesco has said it will do the same for a week after the deadline.

One pound coins were first launched on April 21 1983 to replace £1 notes. The Royal Mint has produced more than two billion since that time.

The new 12-sided pound coin, which resembles the old threepenny bit, entered circulation in March and boasts high-tech security features to thwart counterfeiters.

The production of the new coins follows concerns about round pounds being vulnerable to sophisticated counterfeiters.

Around one in every 30 old-style pound coins in people’s change in recent years has been fake.

My husband is keeping a few for trolleys at the shops because some of them still don’t accept the new £1 coin yet. Ardler careworker Liz Stirling, 64

Trade bodies say the industry has been working hard to update machines in time for the deadline.

However, there may be some cases where people find they are caught short.

The British Parking Association has said it is confident the majority of parking machines are ready or will be ready to accept the new £1 coin.

The Automatic Vending Association (AVA) said it believes all machines owned by its members are now accepting the new coin.