UK currency has been going through a major revamp of late – we've had the controversial new fiver, the Jane Austen tenner and the new 12-sided £1 pound coin, which entered circulation back in March and was due to be phased out completely by this Sunday (15th October).
But we'll now have longer to get rid of those old pound coins than we originally thought. Thousands of shops across the country say they're going to continue accepting them until the end of the month because the changeover period between the two coins has been too short, the Guardian reported.
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Shops and restaurants won't be obliged to accept the old coin after the 15th October, when it will lose its legal tender status, but many say they're willing to make customers' lives easier and carry on accepting them for an extra fortnight. There are still 500m old coins in circulation with less than a week to go until the deadline.
Mike Cherry, the national chairman of the Federation of Small Businesses, which represents 170,000 UK companies, said businesses can collect the old coins if they want to but are not allowed to give them back to customers. He said doing so "would provide a useful community service, allowing customers a few weeks to get rid of the final few pound coins in circulation," reported the Guardian. How thoughtful.
More than 850 Poundland stores will also continue accepting the old coin, allowing shoppers to spend them on its unexpected bargains rather than having to take a separate trip to the bank or post office to exchange them.
The new coin has been described as "the most secure coin in the world" by the Royal Mint, owing to its distinctive shape, the fact that it's made from two metals, its hologram-like image, micro-lettering and milled edges, which make it very difficult for criminals to counterfeit.
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