British Government to launch a new one Pound Coin at the end of March and scrap the current one by October

London, Jan 3, 2017: The British government will launch a new one pound coin at the end of March and scrap the current one by October. An announcement from the British Treasury on Sunday said the new 12-sided one pound coin would become legal tender on March 28 and the new coin would be produced by the Royal Mint in Wales, Xinhua news agency reported.

A total of 1.5 billion coins will be issued in the first minting.

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The new coin has been introduced to deter sophisticated counterfeiters who can now replicate the current coin, which has been in circulation for 30 years.

The new one pound has a distinctive 12-sided shape, recognisable even by touch and it is made of two metals, the outer ring is gold-coloured (nickel-brass) and the inner ring is silver-coloured (nickel-plated alloy).

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And if the coin is tilted it shows a latent image, like a hologram, which changes from a pound sign to the number one.

It will also feature the fifth coinage portrait of Queen Elizabeth II, the world's longest-serving monarch who began her reign in 1952. (IANS)