Twelve-sided £1 coin set to edge out the round pound

Currency: Coin said to be ‘most secure in world’ won’t fit all machines at first

A new 12-sided £1 coin enters circulation today as it starts to edge out the old “round pound” after more than 30 years.

The new coin has been described as the most secure coin in the world and boasts high-tech features, including a hologram.

But consumers craving a snack or trying to parkmay face confusion when they attempt to pay at coin-op- erated machines, as some will not immediately accept the new coin.

They may find themselves rifling through their wallets for an old round pound.

Tesco trolleys across many of its stores will be unlocked as the supermarket giant performs upgrades so that they can accept the new coin.

The old coin and the new coin will co- exist for around six months, until the round pound ceases to be legal tender on October 15.

The new coins have a gold-coloured outer ring and a silver-coloured inner ring and are based on the design of the old 12-sided threepenny bit, which went out of circulation in 1971.

It might take a few days or weeks for people to start seeing the new £1 coins turn up in their change as they gradually filter into general use. The production of the new coins follows concerns about round pounds being vulnerable to sophisticated counterfeiters.

Around one in every 30 £1 coins in people’s change in recent years has been fake. The Automatic Vending Association (AVA) estimates that when the new coin goes into circulation, around85% ofvendingmachines will be able to accept the new£1 coin and all will still accept the old coin.

The body has estimated that all vending machines will be fully upgraded by theendof the transitionperiod on October 15.

One pound coins were first launched on April 21, 1983 to replace £1 notes.

COINING IT: The new £1 features a rose, leek, thistle and shamrock in a coronet