People are being urged to spend or return more than 82 million £1 coins with the new design being introduced from tomorrow.

The Royal Mint is encouraging people to raid their piggy banks and check behind their sofas for the old coins.

YouGov data reveals that over 82 million £1 coins are currently stashed away across the south east.

The Royal Mint is currently producing 1.5 billion new coins at a rate of up to 2,000 each minute and a staggering three million every day.

As some of the new coins will be made from the old round pound, people are being encouraged to spend or return their £1 coins so that they can be melted down and reused for the new coins.

The old 'round pound', which was introduced more than 30 years ago, will be in circulation alongside the new coin until it ceases to be legal tender on October 15.

The new 12-sided coin will supposedly be the most secure coin in the world, as its shape and composition make it very difficult to reproduce.

It also boasts several new security features, including a hologram, its bi-metallic make-up, and micro-lettering on the inside rim.

This will help in the battle against sophisticated counterfeits, which cost taxpayers and businesses millions every year.

It is estimated three in every hundred £1 coins in circulation are fake.

EXPLAINED: When will the new 12-sided pound coin be out - and when is the deadline for spending the old 'round pounds'?

Baroness Neville-Rolfe, commercial secretary to the Treasury, said: "The new £1 will be the most secure in the world, helping to tackle the scourge of counterfeits, and it is great to see that some of the old round pounds will be melted down and reused to make these.

"We are urging the public to dig out their rounds pounds from coat pockets, handbags and down the back of sofas, in order to spend or return them before October 15."

Adam Lawrence, CEO and deputy master of The Royal Mint, said: "Here at The Royal Mint, we're very proud to have designed and manufactured the new 12-sided £1 coin.

"It's been over 30 years since the old round pound was first introduced and it seems a fitting send off that many of the coins that are returned will be melted down and reused to make the new coins."

Consumers craving a snack or trying to park may face confusion when they attempt to pay at coin-operated machines, as some will not immediately accept the new coin.

Tesco trolleys across many of its stores will be unlocked as the supermarket giant performs upgrades so that they can accept the new coin.

POUND FACTS:

  • The Royal Mint has produced over 2.2 billion round pound coins since 1983 - equating to the weight of nearly 6,000 elephants
  • Twenty five different designs have appeared on the pound coin, from dragons to trees
  • The Royal Mint will make over 1.5 billion of the new £1 coins
  • If you put these coins side by side, there would be enough to go from the UK to New Zealand and back
  • The new £1 coin is based on the design of the old 12-sided threepenny bit, which went out of circulation in 1971
  • It is being made at the Royal Mint in Llantrisant, Wales, at a rate of up to 2,000 each minute
  • Some of the round £1 coins returned by the public will be melted down and reused to make the new £1 coin
  • The oldest British coins in the Royal Mint's collection date back over 2,000 years.