New 12-sided £1 coin to enter circulation - here's what to do with your old money

In a few years you’ll probably have a couple of grand in your change jar, right? Enough for a free holiday!

Well you don’t have a few years, you’ve got until midnight on 15 October to turn your quids in or they’ll lose all value.

In case you missed it, there’s a new pound coin coming into circulation on 28 March. A 12-sided confusing love child of the 50p coin and the £2 one.

It’s the first time a new pound coin has come into circulation for over 30 years and the government is launching a campaign to encourage the public to return the ‘traditional’ coins we hang onto. There are an estimated £1.3 billion worth of coins stored in savings jars across the country, and the current one pound coin accounts for almost a third of these.

That’s not even counting the ones down the back of the sofa or weird places like the bathroom cabinet.

Chief Secretary to the Treasury David Gauke said: “March 28 should be an important date in everybody’s calendar this year - as we will have a new quid on the block.

“This is a historic moment as it’s the first time we’ve introduced a new £1 coin since 1983, and this one will be harder to counterfeit than ever before.

“Our message is clear: if you have a round one pound coin sitting at home or in your wallet, you need to spend it or return it to your bank before 15 October.”

Quid on the block, lol.

Some of the round £1 coins returned by the public will be melted down and reused to make the new £1 coin, which was announced in the 2014 Budget.

The new £1 coin, which resembles the old threepenny bit which went out of circulation in 1971 (happy, Brexiteers?) is said to be “the most secure coin in the world”, featuring a hologram and micro-text hoping to make it harder to replicate.

You don’t need to spend them, you could just bank them. But either way, enjoy the weighty joy of the little golden nuggs while you can, the new one is set to be lighter but wider.