What was the old pound coins expiry date and what can you do if you missed the round pound deadline?
ROUND pound coins are now past their expiry date, so fingers crossed you don't still have any lying around your home.
The new pound coin has been hailed as the most secure in the world. Here's what you need to know about why your change has changed and what to do if you still have some round pounds...
When did the old one pound coins go out of circulation?
The old "round pound" stopped being legal tender on Sunday, October 15.
However, if you didn't manage to spend all of the old coins, you aren't necessarily out of pocket.
Customers can continue to deposit them into any many usual high street bank accounts.
The new £1 coin was released into circulation on March 28, 2017.
How much an original pound is worth today
SINCE the original £1 coin was first minted in 1983, inflation has wiped away two-thirds of its value in real terms, according to recent analysis by M&G Investments.
It said when the eroding impact of inflation is taken into account, a £1 coin left sitting in a piggy bank since 1983 would be worth around 32p.
M&G Investments also calculated that if £1 had been put in a cash savings account in 1983, it could now be worth around £1.33 in real terms. And if it had been invested in stocks and shares, its real value could now be around £11.66.
What do the new £1 coins look like?
The new coin is 12-sided, making it much more difficult to counterfeit.
On their website, The Royal Mint said: "Its distinctive shape makes it instantly recognisable, even by touch."
The 12-sided £1 coin also has all new dimensions. It is thinner than the old coin, measuring just 2.8mm in thickness.
It's also lighter, weighing just 8.75g, but it is larger in diameter measuring 23.43mm across.
The new £1 has a bold design, which combines the English rose, Scottish thistle, Welsh leek and Northern Irish shamrock - all of which bloom from one stem within a royal coronet.
On the other side, the coin features the fifth coin portrait of the Queen.
How many of the new £1 have defects?
Thousands of new £1 coins are said to carry major production flaws in a huge embarrassment for the Royal Mint.
Some of the coins — supposedly the world’s most secure — appear cracked, warped or have the middle missing.
Another Brit was surprised to find a new coin with TWO queen's heads - and the misshapen quid could be worth £250.
Meanwhile, other dodgy coins, including a blank one and those with pieces missing, have sold for as much as £300.
Officials admitted faults had crept into the minting process.
Some of them were left looking like Polos after being issued with their centres missing due to a “comedy of minting errors”.
Other flawed coins given to Sun readers are misshapen, with sections bleeding into one another or missing design details.
THE POLO POUND
COLLECTOR John Taylor was stunned when he found the middle had completely fallen out of one of his coins.
He came across the dodgy £1 just days after they were issued, suggesting the minting process is faulty.
But there is already a lucrative online business in the flawed coins.
John, of Crystal Palace, South London, paid £30 for one missing a centre on eBay. Others are for sale at between £50 and £100
THE MELTY MIDDLE
COUNCIL worker Sarah O’Donoghue, 39, got a misshapen coin in her supermarket shopping change.
The silver in the middle of the coin has melted into the outer gold ring.
But learning support assistant Sarah, of Birmingham, said: “I am quite excited I’ve got something different.
“If it’s worth a lot that’s great but if not I’m chuffed I’ve got something different.”
Why was the old £1 coin changed?
Over the past 30 years, the old round coin has grown increasingly vulnerable to counterfeiters - in fact, the Royal Mint states one in 30 £1 coins is fake.
So it was time for a change. The new £1 is thinner, lighter and larger and includes a hologram-like image which alternates between '£' and '1' when seen from different angles.
There's also a secret high-security feature built into the coin itself - which protects the coin from counterfeiting.