# New twelve-sided £1 coin for 2017

- Link: https://fundraising.co.uk/2014/03/19/new-twelve-sided-1-coin-2017/
- Published: 2014-03-19T08:44:08+00:00
- Author: Howard Lake

**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twelve-sided shape, reminiscent of the threepence coin which was withdrawn at decimalisation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](http://www.royalmint.com/).

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![New one pound coin design - from the edge. Image: The Royal Mint](https://wfay6x.
infiniteuploads.cloud/2026/09/one-pound-coin-edge.jpg)

Proposed new one pound coin. Image: [The Royal Mint](https://fundraising.co.uk/2014/03/19/new-twelve-sided-1-coin-2017/fundraising.co.uk/tag/royal-mint/)

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.