Britain melting down coins minted to commemorate Brexit

With Boris Johnson's pledge to leave the European Union on Oct. 31 going unfulfilled, the British government is scrapping its plans for a commemorative Brexit coin to mark the date, melting down the coins that had already been produced.

The date is no longer a milestone because Britain was given another extension of its stay in the European Union after Johnson was unable to get his withdrawal agreement through Parliament, legally forcing him to ask E.U. leaders for more time.

The move to scrap the coin was first reported by Bloomberg. As a result of that decision, any coins already produced will be melted down so that the metal can be reused in the future. A British Treasury spokesman told the BBC that a coin for Brexit would still be produced, but it "will enter circulation after we have left."

It is not clear exactly how many coins were already produced or what their production cost. Earlier in the week, the Guardian reported that only 1,000 or so of the coins had been produced before production was halted. The paper noted that any surviving coins thus could become collectors' items worth hundreds of dollars.

The plans for the special 50 pence coin (technically worth approximately 64 cents) had been among the most tangible evidence that Johnson really did plan to take Britain out of the E.U. at the end of October. But given the uncertainty over that date, as well as the falling value of the British pound, critics argued they were another symbol of the folly of Brexit.

A limited-edition commemorative Brexit coin was first announced in 2018 under then-Chancellor of the Exchequer Philip Hammond and then-Prime Minister Theresa May. The coin's design would include the phrase "Friendship with all nations" and what was at that point the planned departure date: March 29, 2019.

That date came and went without Britain leaving the E.U. After Johnson took office as prime minister in July, the plans were considerably expanded by Hammond's successor, Sajid Javid, with millions of coins slated to enter circulation, amended with the updated departure date of Oct. 31, 2019.

Johnson had pledged to leave the European Union on that date - even if he could not reach an agreement with the E.U. on how Britain would leave, resulting in a "no deal" Brexit that economists argued could ravage the British economy.

Just last month, Johnson said he would "rather be dead in a ditch" than delay Brexit. But because he missed a mid-October deadline to get his withdrawal deal approved by Parliament, the prime minister was forced to send a letter to European leaders requesting an extension to January, which they approved on Monday.

Johnson is pushing for a general election before the end of the year, with lawmakers voting on the proposal on Tuesday evening.

Britain voted to leave the European Union in a referendum on June 23, 2016. The country was originally scheduled to leave the bloc on March 29, 2019, but May requested an extension until April 12 after she failed to get her deal through Parliament. Britain subsequently received another extension that set the new deadline at Oct. 31.

Uncertainly over Britain's economic future has significantly hurt the value of the pound, once one of the world's strongest currencies. The pound was approximately $1.50 against the U.S. dollar before the 2016 vote but is valued this week at around $1.29.

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