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Deadline approaches for Brits to spend old £1 coins

Phasing out: the old £1 coin: PA
Phasing out: the old £1 coin: PA

Brits have less than three months to spend the old £1 coins before they go out of circulation.

There are more new 12-sided pounds in circulation than circular pounds.

From October 15, shops can refuse the old version of the coin.

However, most banks and Post Office counters will continue to accept them.

“The clock is ticking. We are urging the public to spend, bank or donate their old pound coins and asking businesses who are yet to do so, to update their systems before the old coin ceases to be legal tender,” said Andrew Jones, the Exchequer Secretary to the Treasury.

“To have more coins in circulation than old at this point is great news.

“However with less than 100 days to go, the clock is ticking.”

The new 12-sided coin sparked a gold rush when it went into circulation in March earlier this year.

The coin, which has a gold-coloured outer ring and a silver-coloured inner ring, has been described as the most secure in the world and boasts high-tech features including a hologram.

It was brought in to tackle the rise of counterfeit coins, which costs businesses and the taxpayers across the UK millions of pounds every year.

The Royal Mint said they hoped the changeover point would encourage businesses to upgrade their equipment before the autumn deadline.