bodyType

customContents

entityId

entityUuid

articlePageQuery

filter

article

articleBaseAdvertisingInfoArticle

articleListArticle

articleSeoArticle

hooksArticleAcknowledgementGateOverlayArticle

hooksTrackPageViewArticle

hooksContentInterestArticle

articleLinkingDataContent

hooksAmpRedirectArticle

articleSchemaContent

liveArticle

advertZone

sentiment

contentLock

topics

types

sections

paywallTypes

createdDate

publishedDate

sponsorType

urlAlias

moreOnThisArticles

commentCount

authorLocations

authors

corrections

displaySlideShow

multimediaEmbed

printHeadline

seriesContainer

articleSpeeches

socialHeadline

headline

images

flag

firstTopic

glossary

flattenTypeIds

image

relatedLinks

relatedNewsletters

__typename

sponsor

pdfFiles

seriesReverseOrder

series

disableOffPlatformContent

published

updatedDate

summary

subHeadline

body

keywords

readingTime

customTimezone

liveContents

Agence France-Presse

Britain’s old one-pound coin is being phased out completely on Sunday but businesses complain they have been given too little time to switch to the new one and many are planning to defy the deadline.
Around 1.2 billion old round coins have been withdrawn from circulation but about 500 million are remaining with less than a week to go.
“The changeover period has been fairly short,” said Mike Cherry, National Chairman of the Federation of Small Businesses.
“It would help if small firms knew they were allowed a short transition period to collect the old coins if they wish to, and are willing to bank them.”
Poundland, a chain of shops where almost all items cost £1, extended the period during which its customers would still be able to pay with the old coin until October 31.
The country’s main banks, Barclays, NatWest, Lloyds and Santander and the Post Office have also announced that they will continue to accept the round coin after October 15.
The Royal Mint, the official agency that makes the British currency, created the new coin in an attempt to combat fraud, with 3 per cent of the old coins – or £45 million – deemed to be counterfeit.
The outgoing round coin, of which two billion were minted, first appeared in 1983 in an attempt to cut costs by replacing the one-pound note.
The new coin, of which 1.5 billion copies have been made, is “the safest in the world,” said Kevin Clancy, director of the Royal Mint Museum.
Security features on the new coin include 12 sides, a bi-metallic composition, a holograph and tiny lettering called “microtext” around part of the design.
Two different coloured metal alloys, based on nickel and copper, also make it easier to distinguish between fakes and genuine coins.
The new piece, at 2.8 millimetres thick, will be thinner than its 3.15mm predecessor, but will remain the thickest British coin in circulation.
“The idea of having a thicker coin, back in 1983, when the round one pound coin was introduced, was to give it a sense of value,” said Clancy. 
“With the new one pound coin, we continued with that approach”.
The coin will also have a new design on its “tail” side, created by 15-year-old David Pearce, who won a competition organised by the Treasury.
His drawing depicts a rose, a leek, a thistle and a clover – the symbols of the four nations of the United Kingdom – surrounded by a royal crown.
On the opposite side is a new portrait of Elizabeth II, the fifth to decorate a British coin.
The new coin, which was put into circulation on March 27, is supposed to fully replace the old one, which will no longer be legal tender, on October 15.
The authorities have therefore intensified efforts to encourage people either to spend their old coins or change them at the bank.
But many institutions across the country may still accept payments with the old coin after the cut-off date, although they will no longer be able to use it when giving change to customers.
The transition to the new currency could nevertheless cause some difficulties.
Supermarkets Tesco and Sainsbury’s have not yet adapted their trolleys to take the new coin, according to The Daily Telegraph.
Rail travellers are also expected to face problems, with automatic ticket machines of certain companies, including Southern, Great Northern and the Gatwick Express, not able to take the new coins.


Trump says he’ll cut off trade with Spain over Iran war stance

China and France agree to help de-escalate US-Israeli conflict with Iran

What Hong Kong travellers stuck in the Middle East need to do as war spirals

Gripping London samurai exhibition explores Japan’s warrior class and cuts through myths

Britain

Change is hard: frustration in Britain at looming deadline to phase out old £1 coins

A new 12-sided £1 coin (left) alongside an old-style round £1 coin. The old design is due to be formally phased out on Sunday. Photo: AFP

(FILES) This file photo taken on October 05, 2017 shows British one pound sterling coins arranged for a photograph in central London. Britain's old one-pound coin is being phased out completely on October 15, 2017, but businesses complain they have been given too little time to switch to the new one and many are planning to defy the deadline. / AFP PHOTO / Daniel SORABJI

A British one pound sterling coin, a one euro coin and a US quarter dollar coin are arranged and photographed in central London on October 5, 2017. The British pound was under pressure on October 5, 2017, falling against the euro and the dollar, due to renewed political uncertainty in the United Kingdom after Prime Minister Theresa May's speech at the Conservative Party annual conference. / AFP PHOTO / Daniel SORABJI

Britain's new 12-sided pound coin the ‘most secure’ in the world, has hologram-like image to beat fakes

A worker examines a new British one pound coin during production at The Royal Mint in Llantrisant, UK. Photo: Bloomberg

New British one pound coins sit in a container during their production at The Royal Mint in Llantrisant, U.K., on Thursday, March 23, 2017. Britain's Royal Mint is making 1.5 billion new one pound coins, which will enter circulation on Tuesday, with security features such as a unique 12-sided, bimetallic design, a hologram, fine lettering and some secret tricks to beat crooks. Photographer: Jason Alden/Bloomberg

A worker examines new British one pound coins during production at The Royal Mint in Llantrisant, U.K., on Thursday, March 23, 2017. Britain's Royal Mint is making 1.5 billion new one pound coins, which will enter circulation on Tuesday, with security features such as a unique 12-sided, bimetallic design, a hologram, fine lettering and some secret tricks to beat crooks. Photographer: Jason Alden/Bloomberg

News

World

Europe