Last year we reported on the number of fake £1 coins which was estimated to be in the region of 30 million, and we showed how to spot a fake pound coin.
Today it has been announced that the figure given by the Royal Mint is probably way off, with one firm suggesting that there could be more than 70 million fake pound coins in existence, which is one in 20 pound coins.
Andy Brown of Willings, a firm which makes machines to check coins for other businesses and organisations, says there could be 73 million fake coins.
Problems with fake coins are usually only apparent when they’re refused for some reason, which leaves the owner of the coin in a quandry – do you hand it in and lose a quid, or try to pass it off on some unsuspecting individual?
Of course, here at Money Watch, we suggest you do the right thing and hand it in to the Police (at which point it will of course be destroyed, and definitely not be pocketed…)
This is quite an amazing fact if it is truly 1 in 20. I would have expected it to rise during a recession. Surely it can’t be that profitable to make a fake £1 coin! property investing
Over the past year I have been putting together a catalogue of all the different types of counterfeit £1 coins that we have collected, now in excess of 500. You can see the complete list which has been sorted by reverse design, date, and inscription by following the link on our home page. http://www.willings.co.uk