I LOVE this stuff; I've been hooked on technology most of my life. Back in 1983, I happened to be in Llantrisant, Wales, visiting my friend Graham Dyer, the librarian and historian of the Royal Mint. They were going full-bore striking the new pound pieces. Wags had already begun calling the coin a .Thatcher., because, like the Prime Minister, it was "thick and brassy and thought it was a sovereign".

I wondered how they got that edge on the new coins. So Graham walked over to the shop foreman, said something to him. The foreman nodded, beckoned me over. AND THEY SLOWED THE ENTIRE PRODUCTION TO A CRAWL, SO I COULD SEE HOW THE EDGES WERE APPLIED. Now, that.s class!