In For a Pound
Jake M Peters
The pound coin is changing. By 2017 an entirely new, 12-sided coin will be in circulation around Great Britain, rendering the old design obsolete. A natural human reaction to change is to scorn it, but it is best we understand why this change is happening.
Statistics show that over 45 million pound coins in circulation are counterfeit - that equates to around 3% of the total number since their initial release in 1983. The Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne has today announced in his annual Budget that this new £1 coin will be the hardest coin in the world to fake.
Most people will immediately turn hostile when they find out how much this changeover is going to cost. For a start, we have to consider that all machines which currently recognise and accept the pound coin will need to be replaced, and that certainly will cost a pretty penny (around £20 million). Some of these machines will include parking metres, ticket machines, changing room lockers and the coveted red phone box. Then again, the long-term effects this proposition is supposed to have should save us many more millions, owing to the large number of fraudsters who will be left out of pocket. Are the pros weighing out the cons?
As many of you readers are young adults, this is probably the first time you will be affected by a change of currency in circulation. What are your thoughts on the wacky new 12-sided pound? Email us at [email protected] and send us your thoughts.
Statistics show that over 45 million pound coins in circulation are counterfeit - that equates to around 3% of the total number since their initial release in 1983. The Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne has today announced in his annual Budget that this new £1 coin will be the hardest coin in the world to fake.
Most people will immediately turn hostile when they find out how much this changeover is going to cost. For a start, we have to consider that all machines which currently recognise and accept the pound coin will need to be replaced, and that certainly will cost a pretty penny (around £20 million). Some of these machines will include parking metres, ticket machines, changing room lockers and the coveted red phone box. Then again, the long-term effects this proposition is supposed to have should save us many more millions, owing to the large number of fraudsters who will be left out of pocket. Are the pros weighing out the cons?
As many of you readers are young adults, this is probably the first time you will be affected by a change of currency in circulation. What are your thoughts on the wacky new 12-sided pound? Email us at [email protected] and send us your thoughts.