The pound won’t be round for very much longer

new pound

Image: The Royal Mint

Your wallets are about to be upgraded.

The government has confirmed that the £1 coin will be replaced for the first time in 30 years. The new 12-sided £1 coin will begin circulation in March. The new coin is said to be the “most secure” coin due to a number of new features that will make it much more difficult to counterfeit.

According to The Royal Mint, approximately one in thirty coins are thought to be counterfeit. The production of a new coin comes after mobile wallets have exploded, with consumers shifting to rely on digital and device transactions.

The Royal Mint has stated that the following changes will be made to the coin:

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 a hologram-like image that changes from a ‘£’ symbol to the number ‘1’ when the coin is viewed from different angles.

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

Milled edges  it has grooves on alternate sides.

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

Not only is the exterior of the pound coin getting a significant makeover, the dimensions will also be slightly altered. The new £1 coin will be thinner (2.8mm thickness) and also lighter (8.75g) than the original £1 coin.

Between the 28th of March and 15th of October 2017, there will be a co-circulation period during which both coins will be accepted. After the 16th of October 2017, all businesses should be accepting the new £1 coin.

Related reading

Finance more evolution than revolutionary change