Skip to content

Search

loading Loading

Old £1 pound coins: Worthless or not?

- Published on 7th October 2017

old £1 pound coin changeover

From 15 October 2017 the old £1 pound coins will no longer be legal tender in the UK. Does this mean that your old £1 coins will be worthless? Or are there still ways to exchange them? You sent us many questions about the old one pound coins in your piggy banks. We sent your questions to UK high street banks, the Post Office, the Royal Mint and the Bank of England. Here are the answers.1 Pound Sterling coin Great Britain

Until when can I spend my old £1 pound coins?

The old, round £1 pound coins remain legal tender until 14 October 2017. From 15 October 2017 onwards, the round £1 pound coins will no longer be accepted for the purchase of goods or services in the United Kingdom. The only accepted £1 coins will be the new bimetallic 12-sided ones.

Will old £1 pound coins become worthless after the deadline?

No. Although old £1 pound coins will no longer have legal tender value from 15 October 2017, they will not become worthless. There are a number of ways to redeem your old one pound coins.

How can I redeem my old £1 pound coins after the deadline?

UK bank customers can continue to deposit old £1 coins into their bank account, even after the 15 October 2017 deadline. This can be done in their bank’s branches or through any Post Office. There are no limits on the amount of old £1 pound coins that customers can deposit into their UK bank accounts aside from the normal restrictions. No time limit has been set to deposit old £1 pound coins into a UK bank account. Customers will be able to do so until further notice.

Update 31 July 2019: UK high street banks have updated the pay in machines in their branches to no longer accept old £1 coins. It is therefore no longer possible to bulk-pay old £1 coins into UK bank accounts. Most banks will however still allow limited amounts in small bank bags (20 pieces per bag).

It is not possible to exchange old £1 pound round coins for the new 12-sided bimetallic £1 pound pieces. This service is not offered, not by any of the UK high street banks, nor by the Post Office, the Bank of England or the Royal Mint. The only way to redeem old £1 pound coins is by paying them into a UK bank account.

I don't have a UK bank account. How can I redeem my old £1 pound coins?

If you don’t have a UK bank account you can still exchange your old £1 British pound coins by using our online exchange service. It’s easy to exchange any old British coins or discontinued Pound Sterling banknotes. Leftover Currency’s simple three-step process allows anyone with old £1 pound coins to exchange them via post and receive cash via bank transfer, cheque or PayPal.

Exchange old style £1 pound coins to cashNew 1 Pound Sterling coin Great Britain

I don't live in the UK. Can I also redeem my old £1 pound coins?

Yes. Leftover Currency’s online exchange service for old £1 pound coins is available to everyone, no matter if you live in the UK or not. It is possible to send your old one pound coins from overseas and receive payment by bank transfer or PayPal in the currency of your choice.

Exchange old style £1 pound coins to cashWe contacted all UK high street banks and we would like to thank the following banks for responding: Barclays, HSBC, Lloyds Bank, NatWest. We thank the Post Office, the Bank of England and the Royal Mint for the information they provided.

Author

Mario Van Poppel

Mario Van Poppel is the founder and director of Leftover Currency. What started as a hobby, collecting world banknotes, evolved into a fulltime job, running a successful online bureau de change. Mario is still a collector of pre-Euro banknotes and a member of the IBNS.