4 things you never knew about coins

With Chancellor Philip Hammond set to decide the future of 1p and 2p coins this week, see if you knew these financial facts!

We also want to know what you think about getting rid of the coins. Head to this article to have your say.

We've only had the coins for 48 years

The 1p and 2p coin first went into circulation on 15 February 1971 when the UK adopted a new decimal currency system.

Did you know you can only spend a certain amount of 1ps at a time?

The 1p coin is legal tender for amounts up to 20p - so you can only spend 20 1p at any one time in a single transaction.

This means shopkeepers don't have to take any more than 20 1p coins by law - anything over that amount is up to them.

The Royal Mint gives free silver coins when a royal baby is born

It's been a long-standing tradition to give a silver coin for good luck when a baby is born - and the Royal Mint have been doing just that.

It gives babies born on the same day as a future monarch a silver penny engraved with the year of their birth.

Throughout history, offering a new born baby a silver penny was seen as a way to wish them wealth and good health throughout their life.

They're not copper!

The copper 1p and 2p coins aren't even really copper! When the coins were first minted in 1971, they were 97% copper, but that changed in 1991 when copper prices rose.

The new 1p and 2p coins are now only copper-plated and mostly made up of steel.