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When the Queen dies, what will happen to money?

Sorry for the slightly confusing title, and slightly morbid too, but I've been thinking; when the Queen dies, what will happen to the money we use? Will it be replaced automatically by banks, phased out gradually (over say, 5 years), will it remain the same (no change, keep the Queen's face), or (I know this one is very unlikely) will they "restart the currency" again?

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Reply 1

dbmag9

New things will be issued with the new design, so the faces in distribution will change very gradually.

Reply 2

Origami Bullets

I would imagine that they would just stop printing notes and making coins with the Queen's head on, and just let the old ones drop out of circulation naturally.

Reply 3

rj1990

But, I'm gonna sound really dumb here, but where will it circulate to?......surely it will still always be around? Or do that many 10£ notes fall through drainholes in the streets? haha I mean all that money if it goes back to the banks, is just gonna be in the banks unused?

They should hand it down to poor people like your older brother or sister hands down her Umbro jumpers when your in primary school.

Reply 4

monk_keys

Original post by rj1990

The banks exchange it for the new notes.

Reply 5

thegodofgod

IIRC, if you exchange them at the Post Office, they then send them off to be destroyed as 'Unusable Tender', and they're replaced by the new notes/coins.

Reply 6

SillyEddy

From a quick look at the minting history, the coins of the new Monarch would go into immediate production for the next year. It seems there isn't really a time where they honour the current Monarch by keeping their face on the coins, but considering how long it must take to get those coins out of circulation, she will probably be around for many years afterwards. The new Monarch would also face left on the coins, as their direction reverses after each new monarchy.

As far as I can tell, banks do sometimes have to send coins back, and the mint will probably destroy or recycle those coins and just produce new ones. Banks and shops are usually given newly minted money first and so they'll just give out the new money and when they collect money and bank it, it will find its way back to the mint.

(edited 11 years ago)

Reply 7

scrotgrot

When you pay money into the bank it turns into magic numbers on a computer screen, when you get it back out it's crisp new notes, that's how the old notes drop out of circulation

Reply 8

455409

Shops paying the cash from their tills into the bank will be the primary source of removal of the current currency, when it does change. In fact i'd say it'd change pretty fast, even small shops will take a few grand a day in cash which is paid in to the bank, and then presumably destroyed.

Reply 9

Klix88

Original post by SillyEddy

It seems there isn't really a time where they honour the current Monarch by keeping their face on the coins, but considering how long it must take to get those coins out of circulation, she will probably be around for many years afterwards.

When I was a kid pre-decimalisation, my pocket money often used to include coins from the early reign of Queen Victoria. Some of those were well over 100 years old. They only stopped circulating in 1971 when the currency was replaced at decimalisation.

I don't think Elizabeth II's image would be going away for a while.

Reply 10

SillyEddy

Original post by Klix88

Oh I bet. According to Wikipedia, there are around 30 billion coins in circulation. Most of which will be Elizabeth II. Unless the money is damaged, they probably won't change it. A portion will no doubt will taken to the mint, but it's expensive to produce money, so it will just be a slow and steady process.

Reply 11

Snagprophet

The same thing that happens whenever the Royal Mint prints new money: The Royal Mint will print new money and old money will be taken out of circulation, hence why we don't see pre-decimalisation tuppence any more.

Reply 12

Dirac Delta Function

Original post by Funtry

Everyone starts from £0 again.

Reply 13

little_wizard123

Original post by rj1990

If they replaced the money with new notes, they can't then go and give the replaced notes to poor people. It's the same concept as just printing more and more money to get out of a recession (money supply goes up and hence currently devalued).

If so, why couldn't they give the new notes to poor people :tongue:

Reply 14

TenOfThem

Original post by Klix88

^^^^

Just what I was going to say

Reply 15

TheGuy117

To save money and cut the deficit, the government will probably send "Do it yourself money conversion kits" to everyone...basically glorified stickers with a picture of the new king that everyone must stick onto the money they have, covering the queen. Felt tips and stencils will be included to create a silhouette of the new king on coins.