€434m of UK £1 coins go missing

Nearly £300m (€434m) worth of £1 coins have gone missing since they were first put into circulation in Britain 20 years ago, research revealed today.

It is estimated that around £40,000 (€57,895) worth of pound coins disappear from circulation every day as people lose them or squirrel them away in piggy banks and jam jars, according to friendly society Liverpool Victoria.

The buying power of the coin, which was launched on April 21, 1983, has more than halved since it first came into circulation, and 70% of people say they now treat the coins as loose change, while 90% say they spend them as casually as they would any other coin, including coppers.