Savers claim £385m is stored in the nation's penny pots

Research from personal finance product comparison website, money.co.uk, has revealed that 63% of UK households store excess loose change in a pot or jar. On average, the nation's shrapnel savers claim to have £24.54 squirreled away - to be converted to ‘real money' and spent at a later date.

Incredibly, that means as much as £385m could be stored in almost 16m jars, bottles and piggy banks across the UK - in a savings account that figure would fetch around £12m in gross annual interest.

Chris Morling, managing director of money.co.uk, said: "It's amazing how it all adds up. Twenty five pounds is hardly a king's ransom when you look at each household in isolation but, together, it seems these penny pots contain a staggering amount of money.

"In fact, it would appear that the total amount ‘saved' in this way has shot up over the last two years, from £100m in 2007. According to our figures, three times as many households are now ‘watching the pennies', which explains the rise - perhaps simply because people are more careful with money in tougher times."

What does £385m buy these days?

If the nation's shrapnel savers clubbed together, they could buy:

A premiership football club

A troubled chain of high street stores (Woolworths was around £385m in debt when it folded)

The world's most expensive super-yacht (currently owned by Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, the ruler of Dubai)

Did you know?

All those pennies would have to be converted to larger denominations before any significant purchase could be made - because coins are legal tender throughout the United Kingdom only for the following amounts:

50p - for any amount not exceeding £10
20p - for any amount not exceeding £10
10p - for any amount not exceeding £5
5p - for any amount not exceeding £5
2p - for any amount not exceeding 20p
1p - for any amount not exceeding 20p