New twelve-sided £1 coin for 2017
Howard Lake | 19 March 2014 | News
HM Treasury is to introduce a new £1 coin in 2017. It will have a distinctive twelve-sided shape, reminiscent of the threepence coin which was withdrawn at decimalisation in 1971.
The new coin will of course find its way into charities’ collecting tins.
It has been introduced to reduce counterfeiting of the £1 coin, which was introduced 30 years ago. The new coin “will be the most secure circulating coin in the world to date” according to The Royal Mint.
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The proposed £1 coin will be built from two different coloured metals and will feature new security features that until now have only been used in banknotes.
George Osborne, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, said:
“With advances in technology making high value coins like the £1 ever more vulnerable to counterfeiters, it’s vital that we keep several paces ahead of the criminals to maintain the integrity of our currency. I am particularly pleased that the coin will take a giant leap into the future, using cutting edge British technology while at the same time, paying tribute to the past in the 12-sided design of the iconic threepenny bit.”
The government will launch a public consultation over the summer to help it finalise the precise specification of the new coin. Later it will launch a public design competition to choose the reverse (or ‘tails’) side of the coin.
About Howard Lake
Howard Lake is consultant editor of UK Fundraising. He founded the site in 1994 and successfully sold it in 2022. As director of Giving X Ltd he is exploring growing giving on a massive scale.
He is the founder of Fundraising Camp and co-founder of GoodJobs.