We size up the new pound coin to see how it fits into everyday spending
Newcastle is one of the first places to receive the 12-sided coins – but do our machines take them?
SHOPPERS in Newcastle are among the first to be able to get hold of the new 12-side one pound coin. But is the city set up to use them? We tested the brand new coin out. We managed to buy parking tickets at two different machines in the centre, on Hood Street and St John’s Street. But we struggled more with a vending machine in Chronicle HQ, which spat our coin back out at us. However, it’s been reported that plenty of vending machines have been updated to accept the new currency, so you may just have to try your luck. Metro ticket machines have had stickers on for a while proclaiming themselves ready for the 12-sided coin, so it wasn’t a surprise that a machine in the Monument Metro station happily swallowed our cash. However, you might have to reserve some round pounds to unlock supermarket trolleys. The new coin is thinner and lighter than the old one, but it’s got a wider surface area, so at the Tesco on Clayton Street, at least, we couldn’t use it to access a trolley. If you want to get your hands on a new coin yourself, they are currently available in the NatWest branch on Northumberland Street, where they’ve proven so popular that staff have had to limit the number each keen coin collector can withdraw. Sandra Dale, who works in the branch, said: “We’ve had people here from everywhere asking for them, we had to limit it to five per person. “We had a queue since about 8.30 this morning.” Newcastle is just one of 14 cities which has been chosen for the launch of the new coin — it’ll take a little longer
for it to be rolled out more widely across the city, and the county.
The coin is said to be difficult to counterfeit because of its distinctive shape.
It is made of two metals with a gold-coloured outer ring and a silver-coloured inner ring.
The design includes a hologram which changes a £ sign to the number 1 when viewed from different angles, and it’s lighter and thinner but slightly bigger than the old coin.
You can use old, round pounds until they go out of circulation on October 15.