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Brexit: Thousands of 50p coins to be melted down after delay

The Treasury says a coin will still be produced to "mark our departure from the European Union".

Chancellor Sajid Javid is drawing up plans for millions of 50p Brexit coins to
be minted in time for Britain's departure from the EU.
Image: A coin design suggested for the original departure date
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Commemorative coins minted to mark Britain's departure from the EU are being melted down, the Treasury has admitted.

The 50 pence coins bearing a departure date of 31 October are being "recycled", it added.

It follows the EU's decision to grant a further three-month delay, something Boris Johnson accepted on Monday afternoon in a letter to European Council President Donald Tusk.

The cost of designing and producing the now defunct coins is being met by the "Royal Mint out of its own revenues", and there will be "no cost to the taxpayer", the Treasury said.

It added that it would not be commenting on the cost of production because it is "commercially sensitive information".

The Treasury building in Whitehall
Image: The Treasury says there will be no cost to the taxpayer

A limited edition of about 10,000 commemorative coins to be sold to collectors for £10 each had been planned by former chancellor Philip Hammond.

Another coin will be produced, to mark the UK's eventual leaving date.

More on Brexit

"We will still produce a coin to mark our departure from the European Union, and this will enter circulation after we have left," a Treasury spokesman said.

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It will be inscribed with the phrase "friendship with all nations" and stamped with the new date.

Precious metals, such as 50p coins, are sorted and shredded before being melted down, according to the Royal Mint website.

Metals are then purified and solidified before being turned into new products.