Gold mine of 169m old pounds down back of the sofa

ABOUT £169 million worth of old £1 coins have yet to be returned, the Royal Mint has said.

The round pound ceased to be legal tender in October last year after a 12-sided version entered circulation the previous March.

Based on the number of UK households, it means the average family could be in possession of seven of the old coins. Although they are no longer legal tender, they can still be deposited into accounts at banks or donated to charity.

About 138 million round £1 coins were melted down to help create 1.5billion new ones at the Royal Mint at Llantrisant, near Cardiff.

The Royal Mint said the change in the coin’s design was an attempt to crack down on counterfeiting after the old coin became “increasingly vulnerable” to being faked. About one in 30 of the old round £1 coins in circulation was said to be counterfeit. The new coins have been lauded as “the most secure in the world”.

The Royal Mint said it expected coins to continue to be returned for several years to come.

There’s gold in them there sofas – or at least a goldy-coloured nickel-brass alloy. Some 169 million round pound coins have not been handed in, about six or seven per household. Try rummaging in the innards of your sofa, or the dish on the hall table that holds keys and stray buttons. The coins’ introduction in 1983 said something: that a pound wasn’t worth much. It was not worth making pound notes that wore out in months if coins would last decades; the problem was forgery. But many designs since 1983 are a pleasure to find. In 2011, a pound was struck with Edinburgh’s badge and, on the edge, its motto: Nisi Dominus frustra

– Except the Lord build the house, they labour in vain that build it. There’s been plenty of labouring in vain since then, not least in national unity. One of those coins invites being kept as a sad memento.