Christmas stockings across the country will be left one item short this year, after Cadbury announced that it is to stop making chocolate coins.
Sales had been falling, the company said, because customers were choosing to buy cheap rival coins from Lidl, Aldi and Poundland instead.
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And the traditional gold colour of the wrapping made it hard for consumers to distinguish between coins made by Cadbury – known for its purple livery – and those made by other brands, he added.
"We are sorry to see the coins go, but that's business," the spokesman said.
The decision provoked an outpouring of nostalgia and dismay on social media.
Some felt that there was now little point in continuing with Christmas festivities:
may as well cancel Christmas if Cadbury's aren't bothering with chocolate coins anymore — Lauren (@laurenchurcher) October 28, 2014
The Telegraph's Harry Wallop accepted that Christmas would go ahead, but suggested it was entering a brave new world:
FULL CHOCOLATE COINGATE LAID BARE "@DanTLHyde: End of an era as Cadbury discontinues chocolate coins http://t.co/7uEiiEERF7" — Harry Wallop (@hwallop) October 27, 2014
And while the decision comes four years after Cadbury was taken over by the American company Kraft, other observers saw signs of a political conspiracy:
@hwallop I blame Europe — Donna Clark (@DonnaClark7) October 27, 2014