Hard-nosed public transfers loyalty from punt to euro

Caroline O'Doherty hears there's been "very little trace" of the pound in shops around the State in recent days.

Caroline O'Doherty hears there's been "very little trace" of the pound in shops around the State in recent days.

The majority said goodbye to the punt long in advance of the official farewell, if the dominance of the euro in the last few weeks is anything to go by.

However, the Central Bank has listed as missing millions in old notes and coins. Consequently fivers, quids and tuppences are likely to crop up in drawers, jars and drains for some time to come.

Senator Feargal Quinn emptied his pockets of the old money as soon as the euro arrived, changing all notes and donating most coins to charity.

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But he held on to "a lot" of old five-pence and 10-pence pieces to use as markers on the golf course.

"I was in the United States recently and every time I played I said I play for money. It was only the bull or salmon but it was a bit of fun. The Americans love to get the coins as souvenirs. I checked with the Central Bank and they said it actually cost them less to make the fives and tens than the pennies and two pences, so I don't feel guilty about keeping them."

Father John MacMahon, parish priest at the Queen of Peace parish in Bray, Co Wicklow, also changed over immediately and allowed himself only the small luxury of keeping a millennium pound coin.

Unfortunately for the volunteer counters who tot up the weekly collections at Mass, many parishioners have been getting rid of their old money more gradually.

"Our counters used to finish at 12.30 p.m. on Monday but they've been there until 5.30 p.m. recently because of so many mixed coins to sort out. I did request that people only put in euros and cents but I don't think people heard the end of the sentence. Either that or they didn't believe we were asking them not to give us money."

The Director of Consumer Affairs, Ms Carmel Foley, has rid herself of all old money without a hint of sentimentality. "My life and my house are cluttered enough without holding on to old coins.

"I'm still doing the arithmetic - adding a quarter and subtracting a fifth - so I suppose mentally I'm not fully adjusted, but all physical manifestations of the old money are gone.

"It's the practical beauty of it. No changing money at airports. No searching for change for a taxi abroad. It's glorious."

There were concerns that the elderly would find the changeover more gruelling than glorious, but Mr Harry Sheill of Alone said most older people he was in touch with were coping well.

"A lot of them are holding on to the old money though. Not big amounts but the coins. They put them in a jar for that rainy day that might never come and even now it's hard to break the habit of a lifetime.

"We switched over in the office straight away but we're still getting the odd donation in old money. I didn't keep any myself. I'm not a hoarder. But my wife is so I'm sure there's still some around the house."

The Central Bank noted that initially consumers in rural areas were slower to make the changeover than their city cousins. But Mr Seán Hannick, vice-chairman of the Council for the West, said the region had quickly caught up.

"I talk to a lot of business people and there's very little trace of the old money. I think people felt that once we'd made the change, there was no point in hanging on to the old currency.

"I would have liked to keep a set of notes and coins but it was all spent or spoken for. In a few years I'll probably be asking why didn't I keep some."