To think this will be a terrible waste of plastic

[EscapeRoomToTheSun]

I just read that all the money will be reprinted with Charles on instead and the old Queen stuff destroyed. Why?!

How much money will that cost? How much plastic wasted?

They don't take it out of circulation straight away.

There'll be a period of old queen notes and new king notes coexisting

Well yes they can't do it all at once. But they could just leave it in circulation to be gradually replaced? Rather than reprinting everything, coins too!

I just read the money with her image on will stay in circulation for years rather than be withdrawn and destroyed. They'll just print new ones with Charles on too

We had coins from George VI right into the 80s, notes get replaced fairly often it will be phased in.

stamps will soon have the kings head

Yes I remember those coins too. Even though the old King died 20 years before I was born

This is the article I read that said the money with her image will stay in circulation for years www.google.com/amp/s/metro.co.uk/2022/09/08/queen-dead-what-will-happen-to-our-money-coins-and-stamps-15502191/amp/

I suppose a difference for the current notes is that they will last for years/decades unlike the old ones so won't get replaced as fast.

But yes, we'll just have both Queen and King notes for a while.

Which leads me to wonder, how much planning have they already done for Charles notes? Is there a design yet? Are they ready to issue?

Also what happened to old coins, were they melted down and recast as new ones?

Talking of plastic, why do people always have to lay flowers wrapped in it? I remember this being a major issue when The Duke of Edinburgh died and Princess Diana

That's what I thought this would be about. Acres of cellophane wrapped flowers-such a waste.

When I was a child, before decimalisation our pennies often still had the head of Queen Victoria on as well as subsequent monarchs. It was very exciting if you got a "bun" penny - one featuring Victoria in her younger years because those were even older.

With the flowers I'm hoping Charles announces that it should not happen. He's a keen environmentalist, the thought of acres of decaying flowers wrapped in plastic would appall him. How many people who lay them volunteer to go back to sort the plastic from the compost? It's as bad as leaving bags of dog poo lying around. Far better ways to mark the queen's death for those who want to. Plant some daffodils or tulips for instance.

I have loads of stamps from last Christmas when DH and I both mistakenly bought them for cards. I guess they will still be valid.

Fourchimneys your stamps won’t be valid for much longer but not because of the Queen’s death - Royal Mail are introducing new stamps with barcodes so you will need to swap (or use) all your old stamps by 31st January

www.royalmail.com/sending/barcoded-stamps

ChessieFL they will all be used for Christmas cards but thank you 🙂

Yes; out coins have been unusual for the last few decades by only having the Queen on them, but that's simply because of decimalisation making the ones with previous monarchs obsolete.

It isn't all made of plastic. You can get eco biodegradable versions of it that many florists use now. It has a slight tint to it.

I just hope that having to reprint money is not used an excuse to move to a cashless society dons foil hat.

I have loads of stamps from last Christmas when DH and I both mistakenly bought them for cards. I guess they will still be valid

All stamps that lack a barcode will be useless by January 2023 anyway. Best use them up.

We will probably still have money with the Queen on it in circulation when William becomes King.

From the link that ChessieFL posted "Note: Special Stamps with pictures on and Christmas Stamps without a barcode will continue to be valid and don't need to be swapped out."

I mean, everything about having a royal family is wasteful. Changing the stamps and money is the least of it.

Good thing it's not happening then.

My memories of the early 60s - you always checked your change to see which head was on the coins and whether it was rare or not. Victoria was the most exciting but Edward's big shiny head was good too. Gradually Elizabeth coinage became the norm and then in 1971 it changed forever. Still have some old pennies. So big!

I think printing more money after a period of printing loads of money (during a pandemic, mind) is incredibly risky as we face inflation and a cost of living crisis. Isn’t there a risk of hyperinflation in doing so, given the current economic climate? Sorry to go off topic. And doubly sorry if I’m talking out of my backside.

But 'printing more money' in the inflationary sense isn't the same as the physical notes and coins with pictures of the current Monarch on.

After all, most money is electronic these days, especially for high spend items, like houses, cars, home improvements, and even smaller regular purchases like food, bills and leisure spending. Actual cash must be a tiny percentage of what is spent and hence contributes to inflation.