In a week that’s been dominated by debate about royal finances, another money matter could be on the mind of King Charles III.

It’s been revealed that no new 1p pieces will be struck for the next 12 months at least. And that’s led to questions about whether the penny piece could disappear in the reign of Charles III.

The Royal Mint issues coins according to need. The Treasury said that there are more than enough 1p and 2p pieces currently in circulation so no fresh ones are required right now.

King Charles might well be pleased to hear that – when he took the throne, His Majesty said he wanted all materials with his image on them, such as coins and notes, to be made according to need to reduce waste and expense.

However, it’s not the first time in recent years that the copper coins haven’t been struck. In fact, the 2p wasn’t issued between 2018 and 2022 as so many were circulating.

With a continuing increase in card and online transactions, debates about the long term viability of cash remain. However, the global IT glitch on July 19th 2024 meant some shops couldn’t process card payments and their customers could only pay with cash for a few hours.

The penny has been in use in England for over 1,000 years. It was introduced by King Offa of Mercia who was shown on the coin. The word penny comes from the Anglo-Saxon word for money, penig.

Dozens of monarchs have been shown on penny pieces through the years. But could the reign of King Charles III see this most famous coin of all pass into the history books?