Mystery of missing £300m

Mystery of missing £300m

Carrying cash is 'increasingly popular'

Nearly 300 million £1 coins have gone missing, according to research published on Saturday.

The coins are now vanishing at a rate of about 40,000 every day.

Some are "gathering dust" in piggy banks and jam jars across Britain.

But the rest have simply fallen down the back of society's sofa, say researchers.

The study, for friendly society Liverpool Victoria, also found nine out of every 10 people spend £1 coins like pennies.

And seven out of every 10 of the 2,000 asked considered them "loose change".

But perhaps that is not so surprising - the coins' buying power has halved since it came into circulation on 21 April 1983.

Despite the advance of other payment methods, people still favour good old notes and coins

Girobank director of sales Karen Woods

Although cash has not completely lost its shine, according to a different survey.

The study, for the commercial banking arm of Alliance & Leicester, Girobank, found 67% of people strongly disagree with the statement: "Cash is old-fashioned."

That is 4% more than in 2001.

Two out of every three adults think cash will still be used in quarter of a century, researchers say.

About 45% of the 1,001 asked expected a steady amount of cash to pass through their hands during the next five years.

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Just 37% said they would handle less.

Only 14% expected to see more - but this rose to 36% among those aged between 16 and 24 .

Girobank director of sales Karen Woods said: "Despite the advance of other payment methods, people still favour good old notes and coins."

So perhaps now would be a good time to start digging down the back of the sofa ...