Rejected coins are the scourge of anyone trying to park their car or buy a chocolate bar from a vending machine.
But before blaming the machine, there might be a more sinister culprit which is causing all of us to unwittingly commit a crime.
The UK pound coin pictured above was given to us by a reader, who noticed a few defects after it was rejected by a ticketing machine.
A quick examination reveals that it’s the work of counterfeiters, part of a problem that is so out of hand that the coin is set to be replaced entirely in the UK in 2017.
There’s not much profit to be had in our home-grown Manx variety, but official estimates from the Royal Mint suggests that up to one in 30 UK pound coins are fakes.
That equates to around 44 million fake coins in circulation in the UK and the Isle of Man, making it more than likely that at least one passes through everyone’s hands each year.
In this example there are a few clues: not only is the detail on the ‘tails’ side indistinct, it’s also off-centre.
Moreover, the Latin inscription on the side is inconsitently worn and slightly out of line.
And a little more research reveals a glaring error.
This coin had a Welsh dragon on it. Welsh coins have Welsh writing around the outside. But the writing on the outside was in Latin.
In a stack of pound coins in a busy shop it might not be so easy to spot the signs of a fake.
That’s a problem for retaliers and for consumers, who could all too easily find themselves out of pocket: Banks will not change a fake coin for the real thing and it’s an offence to try to knowingly pass the coin on. In theory all fake coins should be handed to the police.
The UK announced earlier this year that a new 12-sided pound coin similar to an old threepenny bit will replace the current version in 2017 in their latest move against the counterfeiters.
Currency independence means the Isle of Man is not required to follow suit with changes to UK currency but historically it has always stayed in step.
The Royal Mint offer the following tips on how to check if a UK pound coin is genuine:
• The design on the reverse of the coin, which changes every year, does not match the year of issue. A comprehensive list of designs and dates is available online.
• The lettering or inscription on the edge of the coin does not correspond to the right year
• The milled edge might be poorly defined and the lettering is uneven in depth, spacing or is poorly formed.
• Details on the two sides might also be poorly defined, or slightly off-centre
• Check the date of production on the coin: if it should have been in circulation for some time, is the coin showing any signs of age? Is it suspiciouly shiny and golden?
• The orientation of the designs on both sides should match perfectly – if one is at an angle relative to the other.
As featured by IOM Today
