IT’S ALL CHANGE FOR THE POUND COIN. MARION McMULLEN CHECKS OUT THE NEW QUID ON THE BLOCK
1 ANY SPARE CHANGE? THE new 12-sided pound coin is now in circulation across the UK and the old round pound will not be around for much longer. The new coin has been described as the most secure coin in the world. It boasts high-tech features including a hologram image which changes from a “£” symbol to the number “1” when seen from different angles. The coin also has micro lettering and milled edges.
2 ANY SPARE CHANGE? THE new coins were made at the Royal Mint in Llantrisant, South Wales, at a rate of 2,000 every minute or up to three million a day. If the coins were put side by side, there would be enough to go from the UK to New Zealand and back.
3 ANY SPARE CHANGE? ONE pound coins were launched in the UK on April 21, 1983, to replace the paper one pound notes. The Royal Mint has produced more than two billion round pound coins since that time – equating to the weight of nearly 6,000 elephants. There have been 25 different designs on the old coins from dragons to trees. The oldest British coins in the Royal Mint’s collection date back more than 2,000 years.
4 HAVE WE MET BEFORE? THE new coins have a goldcoloured outer ring and a silver-coloured centre and are based on the design of the old 12-sided threepenny bit, which went out of circulation in 1971.
5 EVEN BETTER THAN THE REAL THING? PRODUCTION of the new coins follows concern about round pounds being vulnerable to sophisticated counterfeiters. Around one in every 30 of the coins in recent years has been fake.
6 SOFA SO GOOD? BBC Breakfast presenter Dan Walker found himself searching for money behind the show’s red sofa during a segment on the new pound coin. He and co-host Louise Minchin were given two of the 12-sided coins to show viewers but one disappeared. Louise explained: “The first pound coin down the back of the sofa already.”
7 ARE YOU OFF YOUR TROLLEY? PEOPLE craving a snack or trying to pay for car parking may struggle when they attempt to pay at coin-operated machines as some will not immediately accept the new coin. Tesco trolleys across many of its stores will be unlocked as the supermarket giant performs upgrades.
8 CAN YOU PICTURE THIS? THE new coin’s design reflects England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland with a rose, a thistle, a leek and a shamrock. It also features a portrait of the Queen by Royal Mint coin designer Jody Clark.
9 WHAT’S IT WORTH? INFLATION has wiped away two thirds of the value of the pound coins in real terms since the originals were minted in 1983. A £1 left sitting in a piggy bank since then would now be worth 32p.
10 TIME TO SAY GOODBYE? THERE is a period of just over six months when the old round pound coin will still be accepted as legal tender alongside the new coin. People are being encouraged to return their old coins before October 14.
Some of the new pound coins will be made from the melted-down old round pound coins. Around £1.3 billion worth of coins are stored in savings jars across the country. The old £1 coin is thought to account for nearly a third of these.