| Pounds not forgotten at the Central
Bank FIVE years after they ceased to be legal tender Irish
pounds are still arriving by the bag-load at the Central Bank.
The pound went out of official circulation at midnight on February 9,
2002 six weeks after the largely trouble-free introduction of the euro.
However the bank undertook to continue changing the old currency for euros
indefinitely.
And five years on an average of 50 people a day still visit the bank’s
headquarters on Dame Street, Dublin to change their old notes and coins.
In spite of the heavy take-up of its service both before and after the
changeover, the bank estimates that IR£297.9 million (¤378.3million)
in old money is still out there to be changed. Some IR£100million
of this is in coins.
The amount outstanding represents 8 per cent of pounds issued but the
bank believes most of the remaining cash will never be returned.
The amounts exchanged have been falling steadily over the years from
IR£27million in 2003 to IR£4.8million last year.
A bank spokesman said: “We continue to have a steady stream of people
coming in to exchange Irish notes and coins.
“We expect the pattern to continue for some time and we are happy
to continue to provide this service.”
The moneychangers include people from across Ireland and many Irish people
who make the trip while on a holiday home.
Regular customers include charities and religious orders who receive donations
of old Irish currency.
Every bag of crumpled fivers and mouldy pennies brings its own story.
Old clothes and handbags are the places most money has been recovered.
The building and renovation boom has also thrown up significant finds.
Notes have been found under floorboards while one IR£50 note was
found behind a strip of wallpaper.
In Co. Cavan a person who bought a new house with a parcel of land came
across a jar of banknotes in the garden.
Meanwhile in Dublin a person looking in a skip on a street saw something
sticking out of a mattress, which turned out to be a significant number
of old £20 notes.
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