The New £1 coin

Have you been given one? Mr Physics got three over a week ago in his Sainsbury’s change. I am still waiting for one, and lots of people around here are waiting too. Many still haven’t seen the new £1. I am sure there is a Scientific experiment to be carried out into the way the coin is being distributed. I suspect many in the big cities have already forgotten what the old £1 coin looks like, but here they just haven’t reached us. Is this the banks? Are we not spending enough? I’d assumed that each bank would be given new coins and rapidly the old ones would be taken out of circulation. Have they been passed around in Carlisle? They’re certainly in Kirkintilloch now, and the Co-op in town has had a few, but they’ve been supplied by visitors.

Well, I am not going to go searching for one, and I have seen them, but I will be keeping note of when my first new £1 coin is handed over to me, I hope I don’t miss it! Shall I keep it or spend it?

P.S. when buying my last creme egg from Benmar Garage and trying to claim my car wash vouchers I finally got my first new £1 coin. Now I need to decide what to do with it. Then my 82 year old babysitter gave me coin number 2. They are now in circulation, although I think it’s mainly the tourists that have brought them in. Do tell me when you get one.

The Royal Mint Website gives the following details:

The current £1 coin is being replaced for the first time in over thirty years because of its vulnerability to sophisticated counterfeiters.

My comment to this is how do we know which ones are counterfeit? I think most of the £1 coins that we get are counterfeit. Why do they change them so much?

Approximately one in thirty £1 coins in circulation is a counterfeit.

That is why the Royal Mint are introducing a new, highly secure coin on 28 March 2017 to reduce the costs of counterfeits to businesses and the taxpayer.

I wonder if the money has got as far as Cornwall and Orkney yet too- you can see from the map above why it is taken some time to fill the massive gap between coins delivered to Liverpool and Glasgow. What is the reason that Sittingbourne got a delivery of the new coins?

Changing dimensions

The new 12-sided £1 coin’s dimensions are different from the current round £1 coin.
Thickness: 2.8mm it is thinner than the round £1 coin.
Weight: 8.75g it is lighter than the round £1 coin.
Diameter: 23.43mm  it is slightly larger than the round £1 coin, the maximum diameter (point to point) is 23.43mm.

The new coin has a number of features that make it much more difficult to counterfeit.

12-sidedits distinctive shape makes it instantly recognisable, even by touch.

Bimetallicit is made of two metals. The outer ring is gold coloured (nickel-brass) and the inner ring is silver coloured (nickel-plated alloy).

Latent image it has an image like a hologram that changes from a ‘£’ symbol to the number ‘1’ when the coin is seen from different angles.

Micro-lettering  it has very small lettering on the lower inside rim on both sides of the coin. One pound on the obverse “heads” side and the year of production on the reverse “tails” side, for example 2016 or 2017.

Milled edges it has grooves on alternate sides.

Hidden high security feature a high security feature is built into the coin to protect it from counterfeiting in the future.

11 facts about the new £1 coin

  1. It has 12 sides, reminiscent of the old threepenny piece.
  2. It is bimetallic – made of two metals.
  3. It has alternating milled and smooth edges.
  4. The Royal Mint consulted with the Royal National Institute of Blind People (RNIB) to assess any impact for the visually impaired in relation to identifying the new £1 coin. User testing showed that the 12 sides of the new £1 coin and the milled edges made it easier to identify.
  5. It has a latent image; a bit like a hologram, the image changes from a ‘£’ symbol to the number ‘1’ when the coin is seen from different angles.
  6. It has micro-lettering on both sides of the coin – this is the first time micro-lettering like this has appeared on a UK coin.
  7. It also has a hidden high security feature, which replicates bank note level security for the first time on a coin, developed by The Royal Mint.
  8. The new pound coin features the fifth effigy of Her Majesty The Queen by Royal Mint Coin Designer Jody Clark.
  9. The new £1 coin will be thinner, lighter and slightly larger than the round pound; it is 2.8mm thick, has a diameter of 23.43mm and weighs 8.75g.
  10. The new pound coin was used for the coin toss at English Premiership League games on 18/19 March.
  11. While the coin enters circulation in 2017, you’ll be able to find new £1 coins dated 2016 and 2017 – as production began last year.

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