Sixty percent of penny and 2 pence coins are used only once, and in 8 percent of cases, pennies are simply thrown away. In addition, more than 500 million penny and 2 pence coins have been produced every year to make up for the shortfall of pennies taken out of circulation when they are, for example, lost to piggy banks or down the backs of couches.

At the other end of the scale, the £50 note is rarely used for routine purchases. While there is significant overseas demand for the notes, the perception in Britain is that the £50 is used mostly for money laundering, tax evasion and in illicit transactions. Some shops, fearing a costly mistake with a counterfeit, refuse to accept them.

The contretemps occurred as Britain is increasingly moving away from cash and becoming reliant on credit and debit cards and digital payments. Card transactions accounted for more than half of retail purchases for the first time in 2016, according to the British Retail Consortium, and the Treasury predicted cash would be used for only 21 percent of payments by 2026.

Advocates for keeping the £50 were few and far between, but champions of the copper-colored coins were fiercely vocal as soon as the idea of abandoning them was announced. Charities raised concerns about losing pennies, which are almost exactly the size of the American cent, because they rely on them for donations, often collected at shops or on the street.

“Certainly cash is still a very significant form of fund-raising for charities. It is still where we receive the majority of our donations,” said Andrew O’Brien, director of policy and engagement at the Charity Finance Group.