The £1 coin is getting a ‘12-sided make-over’...
A NEW 12-sided £1 coin is being brought in to foil the counterfeiters this month.
The Royal Mint believes one in every 30 of the round pounds we currently handle is a fake.
As the biggest currency shake-up for years approaches, we take a look at the facts, figures and fun of the “money changes”.
The new coin is the first change to the £1 for more than 30 years. It will feel thinner, lighter but slightly larger than the current £1.
Like the £2 coin we now use, it will be bi-metallic – that’s a gold-coloured outer ring and a silver-coloured inner ring.
Coins have been made in Britain for over 2000 years, since before even Roman times. Local tribes produced their own designs for gold and silver coins.
Tell-tale signs of a fake pound include the date and design not matching, uneven lettering and simply looking too new.
More than 6000 entries were submitted by the public for the new design, including cups of tea and the Rolling Stones motif. The design that was settled on combines a Scottish thistle, English rose, Welsh leek and Northern Irish shamrock.
The 50p was the world’s first seven-sided coin.
Every year the Trial of the Pyx is held to ensure sealed bags of 50 selected, newly-minted coins are up to standard. It’s been staged since the 12th Century and the verdict is delivered to the Master of the Royal Mint and the Chancellor.
The slang “quid” comes from the Latin term Quid Pro Quo and the first recorded use of it was in 1661.
The most expensive UK coin to sell at auction was a 1937 Edward VIII Gold Proof Sovereign, which fetched a record £516,000 in 2014.
One of the “cutting edge” introductions to the new coin is a hologram-like £ symbol that changes to a number 1 as you tilt the coin.
Julius Caesar was the first living ruler to put his head on a coin. The Queen’s portrait first appeared on a coin in 1953. The current portrait – the fifth – was unveiled in 2015.
When asked to draw the Queen’s face on a coin, almost nine out of 10 people drew her facing left. She does so on stamps, but she actually faces right on coins.
You’ll have until October 15 to either spend your old “round” pounds or hand them in. After that, most high street banks will still take them off your hands.