New quid

[Gob]

The new 12-sided £1 coin will enter circulation on 28 March, the government has said.




The round £1 will be legal tender alongside the new, more-secure coin until October 15.

The public is being urged to use their current £1 coins or bank them before they lose their legal tender status.

The government estimates around a third of the £1.3 billion worth of coins stored in piggy banks or saving jars around the UK are the current £1 style.

Some of those returned by the public will be melted down and used to make the 12-sided version.

The new style was announced in the 2014 budget and has been billed by the Royal Mint as "the most secure coin in the world".

Why the new coin is harder to counterfeit
12-sided - its distinctive shape means it stands out by sight and by touch
Bimetallic - 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 - around the rim on the heads side of the coin tiny lettering reads: ONE POUND. On the tails side you can find the year the coin was produced
Milled edges - it has grooves on alternate sides
Hidden high security feature - an additional security feature is built into the coin to protect it from counterfeiting but details have not been revealed

The public can expect to see the new designs in their pockets in spring 2017

Its introduction will come as a new set of coin designs are also brought into circulation, celebrating the achievements of Jane Austen and Sir Isaac Newton.

The Royal Mint said the new designs have a "strong pioneering theme" and will start appearing this spring.

A Jane Austen £2 coin will celebrate the author 200 years after her death, while another £2 version will remember the Royal Flying Corps.

A 50p coin will mark the achievements of mathematician Sir Isaac Newton, a one-time Master of the Royal Mint.

Dr Kevin Clancy, director of the Royal Mint Museum, said: "This is a particularly significant year in Royal Mint history as we welcome in the new 12-sided £1 coin, with its innovative security features.

"This year we also mark the achievements of Jane Austen, Sir Isaac Newton and the Royal Flying Corps - all pioneers in their own field."

[dales]

"This year we also mark the achievements of Jane Austen, Sir Isaac Newton and the Royal Flying Corps - all pioneers in their own field."

What, no Monty Python?

This is an outrage!

[Bicycle Bill]

How can a government arbitrarily declare a form of currency or coinage as "not legal tender"?
Granted, the US doesn't print silver or gold certificates any more and despite the printing that says "XX Dollars in silver (or gold) payable to the bearer on demand" you can't redeem them at the Treasury for the specified amount of the precious metal, but if I were to pass one of these bills or an old Morgan silver dollar across the counter I bet the store keeper would accept it.  Thus it is still legal tender.

-"BB"-

[MajGenl.Meade]

Well dales, they did mention the Royal Flying Corps

[datsunaholic]

It's fairly common in the rest of the world to obsolete one form of currency, with a grace period from when the new is introduced to the old being no longer legal. The US is an exception, but has done it in the past with gold coins, though by then they were worth far more than their face value. You will find that most older bills (larger than $1 and over 20 years old) aren't accepted in most vending machines or any other bill taking machine. Not because they aren't legal (most are) but because the machines were reprogrammed for the newer versions.

There are various reasons governments do it- the common claim is to reduce counterfeiting, but often it's to prevent hoarding. If you have to periodically exchange all your cash, it makes you more likely to put in in banks rather than keep it at home. That in turn makes it easier for the government to track what you have, as well as sieze it (which is why so many people hoard cash).

[Lord Jim]

The US is an exception

This practice of not declaring previously issued currency worthless is one of the factors that has contributed to making the US dollar the #1 currency of choice all over the world...

[datsunaholic]

Yup. When Zimbabwe underwent hyperinflation and was printing quadrillion dollar notes, eventually they just gave up and switched to using the US dollar, which had been going on illegally anyway. You can't print your way out of debt, but so many governments try it.

[RayThom]

The new style was announced in the 2014 budget and has been billed by the Royal Mint as "the most secure coin in the world".

Wanna' bet? Just wait until the metallic toner for 3D printers is perfected.