THE ROYAL MINT'S NEW 12-SIDED £1 COIN

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V19 2016 INDEX E-SYLUM ARCHIVE

The E-Sylum: Volume 19, Number 46, November 13, 2016, Article 35

Last week David Sundman forwarded this link (www.thenewpoundcoin.com) noting, "I think this could be the first time a coin has an entire website dedicated to it!" Well, it's an important coin, the Royal Mint's new one pound coin.

In my time living and working in London several years ago, I noted that the pound coin was the workhorse denomination, very heavily circulated. I rarely saw new-looking pound coins in circulation and remarked that it might be an opportunity for counterfeiters to imitate the worn-looknig high-value coins.

I soon saw articles and studies confirming my suspicions - a good percentage of the pound coins were fakes. The Royal Mint embarked on a years-long effort to redesign the old "round pound" and make it harder to fake. The new 12-sided pound is the result of those efforts - a high-quality, high-tech modern coin with multiple anti-counterfeiting features, some usually seen only on paper money.

Here are some excerpts from the site. -Editor

THE MOST SECURE COIN IN THE WORLD
The new coin has a number of features that make it much more difficult to counterfeit.

12-sided – its distinctive shape makes it instantly recognisable, even by touch.

Bimetallic – it is made of two metals. The outer ring is gold coloured (nickel-brass) and the inner ring is silver coloured (nickel-plated alloy).

Latent image – it has an image like a hologram that changes from a ‘£’ symbol to the number '1' when the coin is seen from different angles.

Micro-lettering – it has very small lettering on the lower inside rim on both sides of the coin. One pound on the obverse “heads” side and the year of production on the reverse “tails” side, for example 2016 or 2017.

Hidden high security feature – a high security feature is built into the coin to protect it from counterfeiting in the future.

STATE-OF-THE-ART
The coin’s design reflects the United Kingdom’s heritage and superb craftsmanship.

Made by The Royal Mint – the coin is produced by The Royal Mint using cutting-edge technology developed on its site in South Wales.

Bold new design – it also features a new design that shows the English rose, the Welsh leek, the Scottish thistle and the Northern Irish shamrock emerging from one stem within a royal coronet. This was created by David Pearce who won a public design competition at the age of 15.

The fifth coinage portrait – the fifth coin portrait of Her Majesty the Queen, designed by Royal Mint coin designer Jody Clark, is featured on the coin.

CHANGING DIMENSIONS
The new 12-sided £1 coin’s dimensions are different from the current round £1 coin.

Diameter: 23.43mm – it is slightly larger than the round £1 coin, the maximum diameter (point to point) is 23.43mm.

The current £1 coin is being replaced for the first time in over thirty years because of its vulnerability to sophisticated counterfeiters.

That is why we are introducing a new, highly secure coin in March 2017 to reduce the costs of counterfeits to businesses and the taxpayer.

The site includes information for businesses, informational leaflets and posters, and a timeline of important dates. The old coins will no longer be legal tender at some point in the fall of 2017, although coins can still be deposited in bank accounts in limited quantities after that; merchants should no longer accept them. -Editor