99 pence coin/ Profits

Alastair Manderson made this Freedom of Information request to Royal Mint

The request was successful.

From: Alastair Manderson

24 May 2008

Dear Sir or Madam,

To ask what inquiries (if any) the Royal Mint has for the
production of a coin with a face value of £0.99.

Whether the Royal Mint believes a 99 pence coin would be beneficial
for the money supply (why/why not).

To ask what profits or losses the Royal Mint has made each year
since 2001 in its sale of coins to consumers.

Thank you for your patience, I await your reply containing any (and
hopefully all) of the information requested.

Yours faithfully,

Alastair Manderson

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From: Joseph Payne

6 June 2008

Dear Mr Manderson

I am writing in response to your Freedom of Information request of 6 June.

The Royal Mint receives very few enquiries suggesting the introduction of a 99p coin. In the last 12 months we have received only three such enquiries. The Royal Mint keeps the structure of the United Kingdom coinage under regular review and, at the present time, there is no evidence to suggest that a 99p coin would be welcomed by a majority of the population.

Perhaps the major problem with the proposal to introduce a 99p coin is that although it would be useful for buying items priced at that particular amount, the ??1 would need to be retained for other transactions. The introduction of a 99p denomination, without the removal of the ??1, would result in millions more coins being in circulation at greater cost and inconvenience to the public.

Financial details for the Royal Mint since 2001 may be found in our Annual Reports: [www.royalmint.gov.uk/Corporate/AnnualReports/AnnualReports.aspx].

Yours sincerely

Joseph Payne
Assistant Curator
The Royal Mint

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