New £1 coin hologram

[Joseph_Pestell]

On BBC Breakfast, the lady presenter could not see the "hologram".

[rockershovel]

People often don't appear to realise that coins can be demonetised by government fiat, at any time. India did this quite recently, in an attempt to counter the huge number of counterfeit coins in circulation; one result was an immediate influx of counterfeits from Bangladesh, in previously unseen denominations.

 

My late grandmother had a bag of old-style silver threepenny bits, about 500 of them. She didn't appear to understand that they weren't sterling silver - that had been discontinued long before - and so were worthless. However they served to assure her by then, rather addled mind that she "had money" and was in the habit of distributing them to visiting grandchildren, our parents would recover them and put them back in the bag when the opportunity allowed, along with redeeming any which had been given to nurses at the residential home (real nurses, in those days....) for any small purchases which had occurred to her.

 

I'm only surprised that it is worth anyone's while to counterfeit £1 coins, these days?

[Horsetan]

...I'm only surprised that it is worth anyone's while to counterfeit £1 coins, these days?

It is if you want to buy parking tickets for nowt. The machines in the Ealing multi-storey are unable to determine which is a real pound coin and which is fake.

 

By contrast, the Sainsbury's self-service tills are calibrated so sensitively that anything with the slightest hint of fake gets rejected.

[57xx]

I'm only surprised that it is worth anyone's while to counterfeit £1 coins, these days?

 

When you have 3% of the pound coins in circulation that are counterfeit (est 45m of them in 2014), does that make it worth it?

[rockershovel]

When you have 3% of the pound coins in circulation that are counterfeit (est 45m of them in 2014), does that make it worth it?

I don't know. How do you translate them into anything of value? What is the mechanism or process by which you obtain £1 worth of value for a coin worth less than £1? I'd guess that the cash-in-hand economy is central to this? Edited April 11, 2017 by rockershovel

[Titan]

I don't know. How do you translate them into anything of value? What is the mechanism or process by which you obtain £1 worth of value for a coin worth less than £1?

Use it to buy something at poundland? Oh wait...

[Horsetan]

Oh! Already!!

[Dunsignalling]

Reading the article, it almost sounds like the old coin will stop being valid, which is a bit odd.

I think the old ones are due to be taken out of circulation quite quickly, I've heard as early as October but I'm not certain if it's this year or next.

 

The process will start with banks ceasing to reissue any old ones that are paid in and the numbers in circulation will decrease quite rapidly once that happens.

 

However, banks were still issuing brand new "old" £1 coins round here last week.

 

John

Edited May 3, 2017 by Dunsignalling

[brianusa]

Why oh why, do you keep Pound coins? A few of them are so heavy and you always seem to end up with a load of change. Pound notes were so much more convenient but we always seem to accumulate a lot of change anyway when we come home..

 

Brian.

[PatB]

Hi

 

We got one at the weekend for the first time. Neither of us can see any trace of the hologram on it.

 

It is a 2016 dated coin.

 

It also looks remarkably battered for a coin that had been in circulation for less than 10 days.

 

Suppose for irony it could be a fake

 

All the best

 

Katy

Going through a washing machine can do that to a coin in minutes, in my experience. Doesn't sound too good either, if it gets 'twixt inner and outer drums for the final spin . Spending time on a road after being dropped also tends to accelerate wear somewhat.

Edited May 4, 2017 by PatB

[PatB]

Like Rockershovel, I'd question the economics of faking pound coins (or any other low denomination currency). Even allowing for batch or semi-mass production, the cost to set up and, particularly, the time required to manufacture each coin would seem to suggest that the forgers are actually paying for the priviledge of breaking the law. Yes, in places like India where labour is cheap it might be profitable, but in the UK? You'd get a better hourly rate assembling burgers in MacDonalds.

[DDolfelin]

I'm told that the middle is dropping out of some of the new coins.

No further information at this stage.

[PatB]

I'm told that the middle is dropping out of some of the new coins.

No further information at this stage.

A metaphor for the entire UK economy perhaps .

[Dunsignalling]

I'm told that the middle is dropping out of some of the new coins.

No further information at this stage.

Something half-heard on the news yesterday that the Mint/Bank of England have admitted that a mis-stamped batch has accidentally escaped into circulation.

 

Apparently collectors are keen to acquire them.

 

This may also explain the rumours of forgeries appearing. 

 

John

Edited May 4, 2017 by Dunsignalling

[tomparryharry]

I must confess that I've not seen one of these new holographic £1 coins yet.

 

Mrs Smith says not to worry however.

 

She's fairly confident she can spend them quicker than I can see them.....

 

Ian

[57xx]

Like Rockershovel, I'd question the economics of faking pound coins (or any other low denomination currency). Even allowing for batch or semi-mass production, the cost to set up and, particularly, the time required to manufacture each coin would seem to suggest that the forgers are actually paying for the priviledge of breaking the law. Yes, in places like India where labour is cheap it might be profitable, but in the UK? You'd get a better hourly rate assembling burgers in MacDonalds.

 

You best let the forgers who made £45m worth of them know that they wasted their time... They'll be kicking themselves that they didn't come to RMWeb for advice before going ahead with their plan.

Edited May 4, 2017 by 57xx

[jonny777]

I must confess that I've not seen one of these new holographic £1 coins yet.

 

Mrs Smith says not to worry however.

 

She's fairly confident she can spend them quicker than I can see them.....

 

Ian

 

On the radio they said that Brits are hoarding brand new coins by the million, expecting that they will quickly rise in value.

 

Apparently, tabloid lie-sheets aka newspapers have been hyping-up this idea that they will be worth a fortune.

[tomparryharry]

The 'Old Chap' was one of the engineers responsible for the move of the Royal Mint to South Wales.

 

I remember visiting an aircraft hanger with him, where we viewed the nation's returned circulation of 3d bits.... Lots of 3d bits....

 

When he retired, he told me he had been working on the Irish 20p piece. He fished in his pocket, and pulled out 4 old 1 shilling pieces. Each had been neatly drilled, and a 2BA nut & bolt passed through....

 

Ian

[PatB]

You best let the forgers who made £45m worth of them know that they wasted their time... They'll be kicking themselves that they didn't come to RMWeb for advice before going ahead with their plan.

Just because people did it doesn't mean it actually made any sense. Criminals often aren't terribly bright and many of those who are still aren't necessarily big-picture thinkers.

[tomparryharry]

Just because people did it doesn't mean it actually made any sense. Criminals often aren't terribly bright and many of those who are still aren't necessarily big-picture thinkers.

Sort of reminds me of the person caught filing the edges off the (then-new) 50p piece, to make a bright new 10p piece.... People were also caught filing down half crowns....