Coin News
£19bn in old UK banknotes and coins not cashed in!
£18.9bn worth of paper banknotes and round pounds remain in circulation, with over 113 million of these being £5 notes! Despite it being nearly five years since the paper £5 note lost its legal tender status*, it seems people are holding on them.
In fact, you might just have one in your pocket/wallet/down the back of the sofa right now!
Whilst the paper £10 and £5 notes have been withdrawn from circulation, the £20 and £50 paper banknotes will hold their legal tender status until 30 September 2022.
According to the Bank of England, 775 million paper banknotes remain in circulation:
- Paper £5 notes in circulation: 113 million
- Paper £10 notes in circulation: 73 million
- Paper £20 notes in circulation: 360 million
- Paper £50 notes in circulation: 209 million
That’s a lot of banknotes!
*Whilst the paper £5 and £20 notes are no longer legal tender, they will always be exchanged by the Bank of England for their face value.
There are also supposedly £105m of old round pound coins in circulation, according to the Royal Mint.
After more than 30 years in the nation’s pockets, the familiar round £1 coin was replaced with an all new, 12-sided £1 coin in 2017, in a bid to crack down on counterfeiting.
It lost its legal tender status at midnight on 15 October 2017 and the Royal Mint asked the public to return their round pounds as they phased in the new 12-sided coin.
However, out of 1.6 billion round pounds to be returned, about 1.45 million were counterfeits!
The UK’s 12-sided £1 coin is described by the Royal Mint as the ‘most secure in the world’, with a string of anti-counterfeiting details. Find out more about the security details of this coin here!
Round pounds can still be deposited at high street banks – but can no longer be spent in shops.
Have you held on to your round pounds or paper notes? Let us know in the comments below!
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Official UK £2 coin celebrates 150 years of the FA Cup!
Can you work out the connection between these three events?
- In 2011, Yaya Toure’s 76th minute goal led Manchester City to seal their first major trophy in 35 years.
- The 1999 semi-final had one of the best solo goals in history, played between two of the biggest rivals in footballs.
- Arsenal beat Chelsea 2-0 in the 2002 final.
These are some of the very best moments in FA Cup History!
Producing hometown heroes, as underdogs play alongside Premier League giants, these unforgettable moments unite football fans, making the FA Cup one of the greatest knockout tournaments in the world.
The 150th Anniversary of the FA Cup 2022 £2 coin
This year, to celebrate a remarkable 150 years of the FA Cup, a brand new UK £2 coin has been issued featuring the famed FA Cup Trophy.
An absolute must-have for collectors and fans of the beautiful game alike, this is the perfect keepsake to commemorate such an incredible anniversary in football history.
Your 2022 UK 150th Anniversary of the FA Cup £2 coin has been struck to a superior Brilliant Uncirculated quality and protectively encapsulated in official Change Checker packaging to preserve it for generations to come.
You can secure this brand new coin for your collection for just £9.50 (+p&p) >>
With a one of the largest fan-bases in the UK, football memorabilia is in high demand by collectors all over the world.
We’ve even seen huge popularity for Football themed coins in the past. Continue reading to find out our top UK coins that have celebrated this fantastic sport…
Olympic Football 50p
In 2012, the release of the Olympic 50p series kick-started a collecting frenzy across the nation.
It’s estimated that around 75% of these coins have been removed from circulation by collectors which means they are incredibly sought-after, especially considering these 50ps have some of the lowest mintage figures in circulation…
Many of the Olympic 50ps have a mintage less than 2,000,000 with the rarest being the Olympic Football 50p. This coin has a mintage of just 1,125,500!
It features a design of the hotly debated off-side rule, represented by a simple diagram. Designer Neil Wolfson, a sports journalist by trade, chose an image which he felt would encapsulate the sport whilst also provoke discussion.
Have you been lucky enough to find this sought-after coin in your collection? Let us know in the comments below!
1996 Football £2
Before 1997, £2 coins were struck from a single-coloured, nickel-brass and were mainly produced for collectors and reserved for very special occasions.
Between 1986 and 1996, only seven commemorative £2 coins were issued and this 1996 Football £2 was one of them.
The Euros of ’96 was such a significant occasion that The Royal Mint issued this coin “in celebration of football”.
The reverse design resembles a football, and is accentuated by the unusual concave surface of the coin. The year of 1996 is prominent on the design and the sixteen small rings represent the sixteen teams competing in the tournament. Only 5,141,350 were ever minted.
1996 saw England play host to the 10th European Football Championship and the eventual winners of the competition were Germany who knocked out the hosts in the semi-finals.
Do you remember seeing this £2 coin when it was first issued? Perhaps you even have it in your collection! Let us know in the comments below.
I think you can agree that Football-themed coins have a reputation for being incredibly sought-after amongst collectors. With this brand new £2 coin celebrating such a significant anniversary, it’s sure to be popular.
Secure the The 150th Anniversary of the FA Cup 2022 £2 coin for your collection!
Your 150th Anniversary of the FA Cup 2022 £2 coin has been struck to a superior Brilliant Uncirculated quality and protectively encapsulated in official Change Checker packaging to preserve for generations to come.
An absolute must-have for collectors and fans of the beautiful game alike, this is the perfect keepsake to commemorate such an incredible anniversary in football history.
The Platinum Jubilee 50p is in circulation! Here’s where to find them…
Today, the 2022 Platinum Jubilee 50p coins entered circulation! Issued to commemorate Her Majesty’s 70 year service to the throne, this brand new 50p is the very first circulating coin of 2022.
Getting one of the first coins put into circulation can be quite an achievement, especially with a coin as popular as this one.
It was confirmed that an initial 1.3 million would be released from Post Offices on the 7th February, but a further 1 million entered circulation ahead of the Platinum Jubilee weekend in June!
This takes the combined mintage to a total of 2.3 million. The Royal Mint have confirmed that there would be a maximum mintage of 5,000,070 if demand allowed.
Post Offices in Windsor and close to Sandringham were among the first branches to receive the new coin.
Whilst they’ve been initially released in areas that are significant to the Queen’s reign, these coins were gradually dispersed all over the country. And thanks to you, we’ve been able to plot this 50p’s journey around the UK!
We’ve been keeping track of where Change Checkers have found the 2022 Platinum Jubilee 50p coins and it seems as though it’s already travelled far and wide!
From Anglesey, to Tyrone, and Fife, this 50p has reached the far West, whilst also journeying as far as Kent and East Sussex in the East. Collectors in Scotland will also be pleased to see it’s reached several locations in central and North East regions.
Secure the 2022 UK Platinum Jubilee 50p in collector quality with the special obverse design for your collection!
Your 2022 Platinum Jubilee 50p has been struck to a superior Brilliant Uncirculated quality.
An absolute must-have for collectors, order today to own the UK’s FIRST ROYAL 50p, including the special obverse design!