Something not quite right about £1 coin ...

comes to making money there are some clever people out there.

A closer look at the back of the coin revealed the Queen’s head was off centre and her neck protruded at the bottom (sorry, Ma’am). The wording around the outer edge was also misaligned.

The “unfakeable” bit is meant to be the hologram – the square at the bottom under the Queen’s head.

Turn it one way in the light and you see a £ sign. Turn it the other and you see a 1. Clever stuff.

So does my mysterious coin have a hologram? That’s surely the clincher.

Well, that’s the problem. It has the square but it’s hardly a hologram.

Whereas a genuine coin has quite pronounced Martin Shaw with the £1 coin which is either a fake, or a ‘production error’ coin which has reached circulation. Top, a side view of the coin ridges on the hologram, which can be felt by rubbing your fingernail over it, mine doesn’t. At least they are not as pronounced.

Under a bright light I can see something that resembles a 1 but I can’t see a £ sign, as much as I try.

So is this a fake? If it is it’s the first one ever found, apparently.

The Royal Mint says no fake has ever been confirmed but there are coins with “production errors” in circulation.

They say with coins produced in such volumes mistakes are bound to occur occasionally.

A look on auction site eBay reveals “production error” coins for sale for a few pounds up to £300.

Do I think it’s a fake? Probably not but the hologram is decidedly suspicious and would need closer examination.

Is it worth a fortune? Not if it’s a “production error” but if it’s the first ever confirmed fake? Who knows?

A spokesman for the Royal Mint said: “It is not possible to comment on individual coins without the opportunity of examining them first hand.

“We can say, however, that the Royal Mint produces around five billion coins each year, and whilst there are tight quality controls in place throughout the production process, it is possible that rare variances may occur in a small number of coins, particularly in the striking process.”

Suspect coins can be sent to the Royal Mint for examination – and I might just do that.