On March 28th 2017 the new £1 coin will be launched by The Royal Mint. The original, soon to be old pound coin was first issued in 1983 and is one of the oldest British coins in circulation but unfortunately has fallen victim to countless forgeries over the years, did you know that approximately 1 in 30 £1 coins in circulation is a fake?
The Royal Mint have claimed the new 12 sided, bimetallic £1 coin is “the most secure circulating coin in the world”. The coin features a hologram which changes from a ‘£’ to the number ‘1’ when seen by different angles. It’s stand out design combines an English rose, Welsh leek, Scottish thistle and Northern Irish shamrock all created by 15 year old David Pearce who won a public design competition. On the reverse, the coin features a fifth portrait of the queen.
From grabbing a snack at a vending machine, paying at parking meters and getting a trolley for your weekly shop many people are asking, how will this affect us?
It’s worth noting that the new coin will be a different shape (now 12-sided) and have a slightly larger diameter. This means that parking and vending machines that accepted the pound coin will need re-programming to accept the new 2017 pound coin. Although this sounds quite simple, reports suggest it may take some time for all vending machines to accept the new pound coin.
Supermarkets that incorporate a £1 lock on their shopping trolleys will be affected massively by this as the new coin is unlikely to work in the existing lock. Supermarkets are either going to have to remove or replace the lock on each trolley. The good news for shoppers is ASDA, Morrison’s, Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Lidl and Waitrose have confirmed their customers will see no disruption in the use of their trolleys from 28th March.
Supermarkets will also need to re-programme their self-service checkouts so the new £1 coin is accepted.
There will however be problems in sports centres and gyms that use the £1 coin operated lockers as the new £1 coin will not be compatible. In this situation we advise to speak to your sports centre / gym directly and ask them their plans from 28th March.
If you purchased one of the coin operated lockers on Safe.co.uk over the last 12 months there’s no need to worry, as they have been given a refresh ready for the launch of the new £1 coin and will operate with both the new design and old coin. If however you purchased a coin operated locker previous to 12 months, please see our range of replacement locks that will accept the new £1 coin.
How many piggybanks do you have stashed with coins? We are certain we will see a surge of people heading to the banks or Post Office with their old pound coins. Although the new coin is being released on 28th March, you needn’t panic just yet, you have until 15th October 2017 to cash in your old £1 coins.
