What to do with old coins and banknotes?

There are an estimated 76 million old £1 coins still in circulation and £7.2bn in old notes

How many old notes and coins are still in circulation?

A BBC Wales investigation found that a staggering £7.2bn of old-style banknotes were still out there.

The breakdown of old notes was:

• 110 million £5 notes
• 62 million £10 notes
• 171 million £20 notes
• 52 million £50 notes

And there are coins too. The current pound coin, with its many sides, two colours and other anti-counterfeiting measures has been around since May 2017. The old round coin stopped being accepted in shops six months later.

At the time there were thought to be 500 million of the old coins in circulation, so the fact there are still 76 million out there is surprising. There’s a good chance many of them are lost forever, but a huge chunk of that £76 million pounds has to be just sitting in our homes.

What to do if you have an old £1 coin

If you find an old pound coin, you won’t be able to use it any shops or businesses. And you won’t be able to exchange them for the new pound coins either.

But you will be able to pay them into accounts at banks, building societies. If you don’t have your bank near you, or it’s someone like Monzo or First Direct with no branch, then you can also deposit old round pounds at the Post Office.

So if you track any down, then simply pop into your branch with your bank card and get it added to your balance. There’s a chance your bank could have a minimum number of coins to make a deposit

Before you do that, it’s worth a quick check on somewhere like eBay that you don’t have a rare version which could be worth more.

What to do with old £5, £10, £20 and £50 notes

If you have a UK bank account, the easiest way to exchange your old banknotes is to pay them into your bank account at a local branch or Post Office. There are also 48 Post Offices that will swap old banknotes, even if you do not have a bank account.

You can also take your old notes in person to the Bank Of England in London or send them via the post for a swap.

Where to look for old coins and notes

If you haven’t checked for the old coins or notes, here are a few of the less obvious places you might have forgotten to check.

Your kid’s room

Soon after the old pound coins stopped being legal tender, my then seven-year old niece shared she had a small pot full of them that she was saving. In the end it turned out my dad (her granddad) had already switched them over to the new version. But it shows that if you’ve got kids with a money box or small purse they could be hoarding some old coins.

Winter clothes and bags

If you change your wardrobe with the seasons, then there will be some clothes – particularly coats – you’ve not used for six or more months. Check the pockets and check the bottom of bags.

Occasional use bags

A bit like the winter clothes, you might have bags you rarely use. It could be a posh handbag or a small one for weddings and nights out. You might have a sports or gym bag that’s not been used all summer. Basically anything you’ve not used for a while but you might put cash in!

Random change jars

We’ve got a couple of these at home and I tend to forget they are even there. Since I hate having loose change I tend to empty my wallet whenever I get some. This is usually onto random surfaces, which my wife then moves into a jar. It’s mainly pennies, but you could have a pound or two buried within.

Your glove compartment

Though most car parks are going cashless, you might have a few quid hidden in the glove compartment.