New Pound Coins

Craig1981

Craig1981

Craig1981

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2 Feb 2011
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So the new pound coins have come out. Not seen any yet though. Any of you seen them turning up yet in your change?

And do you think this will have a major impact on forgeries? Or will the crooks just up their game and turn out fake versions of the new coins?
 
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Gordon Summers, chief engraver at the Royal Mint, told Wired UK that the new security feature "is currently impossible for those counterfeiting coins to copy—it's not difficult to do, it's impossible."
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I'm sure someone is accepting that challenge already :)
 
It should have a major impact on forgeries, at least to begin with, I guess that's the point of the new coin. But to be fair, I've seen quite a few fake 1 pound coins, and the forgeries were crude, yet they are still in circulation.
 
olivier renault said:
But to be fair, I've seen quite a few fake 1 pound coins, and the forgeries were crude, yet they are still in circulation.
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Most I have seen are easily recognised but expect as long as they are the correct size/weight they arent distinguished by automated machines.
 
Craig1981 said:
So the new pound coins have come out. Not seen any yet though. Any of you seen them turning up yet in your change?

And do you think this will have a major impact on forgeries? Or will the crooks just up their game and turn out fake versions of the new coins?
Click to expand...


Not seen any. Some crooks will up their game simply because no matter how difficult you make it to forge an exact copy, you only need a retailer to accept a less than exact copy to get around the issue.

Yeah, you can put a little electronic chip(or magnet) on the inside and that is great for brand new vending machines but most retailers will be using aged old EPOS systems and wont check any of the new details of the coin. That said i cant help but feel the biggest thing preventing enw people from counterfeiting compared to before was that it simply is not as profitable.

Features:

1- Electronic chip or magnet (allegedly)

Great for all us new robot retailers but wont mean anything in a busy shop/supermarket

2.Holographic details/laser engraving on the side

Details so complex that a normal coin press cant hope to replicate. So detailed and fine that after a few years and a bit of grime, you wont even see them on the real coins. Doesn't matter though, what till person will be checking each coins engraving or hologram

3.Two type metal coin

Using two metals is harder to counterfeit than one. unless you have a brass brush drill bit, blow torch and stencil to cover up the central bit. Yeah it wont look perfect but after a few years, what coin does?


As long as people still accept and use counterfeit coins that they seem to suspect as counterfeit, people will continue to make them. Making fakes recognisable is no good if people still spend them and accept them anyway, knowing full well that it will leave their pocket sooner or later.
 
One thing I was wondering with the introduction of the new £1 coins is who pays to have all the things amended that take them? i.e. supermarket trolleys, gambling machines, vending machines, lockers etc.?

Do the business themselves have to fork this out or do they get some kind of compensation from the government for this as I imagine it won't come cheap?
 
When I was in year 9, about 1993-4, there was a Somalian kid whose dad was a right crook. This kid used to bring in bags of fake pound coins and handed them out to everyone in an attempt to win friends. The tuck shop workers knew they were fakes, but the coke machine (yes, schools were allowed coke machines back then) didn't and my rucksack would weigh a ton carrying it home full of fizzy drinks. The staff didn't suspect anything, they just refilled the machine daily, and we'd go again. Eventually, it all came to an unhappy end when the engineer came to empty it and notified the headmistress that it was full of fake coins. They switched it off and put a fridge in the tuck shop. Spoilsports.
 
I think there wont be many fakes for a while, the odd criminal gangs will take a punt at it.

Give it a couple of years when people have had a chance to break down what's inside the coins and get a system in place, they'll start production.

I think the main reason behind new coins is to make it unprofitable to forge, which I guess it the biggest obstacle.
 
Crpwned said:
One thing I was wondering with the introduction of the new £1 coins is who pays to have all the things amended that take them? i.e. supermarket trolleys, gambling machines, vending machines, lockers etc.?

Do the business themselves have to fork this out or do they get some kind of compensation from the government for this as I imagine it won't come cheap?
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Supermarket trolleys/lockers wont need amending, they can just use a token system which will cost them a minimal amount.

Fruit machines and vending machines can have the coin slots replaced and changed, which i imagine is up to the owner.
 
Crpwned said:
One thing I was wondering with the introduction of the new £1 coins is who pays to have all the things amended that take them? i.e. supermarket trolleys, gambling machines, vending machines, lockers etc.?

Do the business themselves have to fork this out or do they get some kind of compensation from the government for this as I imagine it won't come cheap?
Click to expand...

I read an article about this recently. An arcade owner had to spend £30k updating his machines.

*edit* here it is:
http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-wales-north-west-wales-39416192
 
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