Coin collectors are scrambling to protect the humble penny as inflation erodes its value and calls for coins to be scrapped grow.
The Isle of Man has become the first region in the British Isles to announce the phasing out of copper lines. Last week, the Treasury of the Crown-dependent country, which uses British pounds and mints its own coins, announced it would no longer produce 1-pence or 2-pence coins because it was not economically viable.
Dr Alex Allinson, Isle of Man Finance Minister, said: Part of that is due to economic reasons. Currently, it costs him more to make a 1p coin than a 1p coin.