The UK’s 12 sided £1 goes global!

Yesterday the Treasury announced that the UK’s 12 sided £1 coin would be going global, as overseas territories and Crown Dependencies will soon be able to create their own bespoke versions of the coin to replace the older £1 currently in circulation.

In 2017, the new Nations of the Crown 12 sided £1 made its UK debut, described by the Government as “the most secure of its kind in the world” due to the new design, featuring intermittent milled edges and micro-engraved denomination and year date which protects against criminals producing counterfeits copies. Before this, around 1 in every 30 round pound coins were in fact fakes.

 

 

As many territories and dependencies currently circulate their own version of the older pound coin, they will now be able to protect their currency with this secure cutting edge technology. These coins will be produced by The Royal Mint to the same security standards as our UK coinage to thwart counterfeit activity.

The Nations of the Crown £1 was designed by 15-year-old David Pearce following a public competition in 2015. The design is made up of the English rose, the Welsh leek, the Scottish thistle and the Northern Irish shamrock emerging from one stem within a royal coronet to represent the four constituent countries of the United Kingdom. 

 

 

The Treasury expects the new versions struck for overseas territories and Crown Dependencies to feature images celebrating their heritage, history and culture to symbolise the close links with the UK.

Jersey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man all represent Crown Dependencies of the UK, whilst the UK overseas territories include Akrotiri and Dhekelia; Anguilla; British Antarctic Territory; Bermuda; British Indian Ocean Territory; British Virgin Islands; Cayman Islands; Falkland Islands; Gibraltar; Montserrat; St Helena and Dependencies (Ascension Island and Tristan da Cunha); Turk and Caicos Islands; Pitcairn Island; and South Georgia and South Sandwich Islands.

Robert Jenrick, Exchequer Secretary to the Treasury, said:“These new designs will reflect the rich and varying British communities across the world.”

Lord Ahmad, the overseas territories minister, said: “As well as helping to boost their identity, these new coins will also bring increased security to each of these economies.”

So Change Checkers from overseas territories and Crown Dependencies can look forward to the new coins being released soon, but what design do you think should be featured for each? Let us know in the comments below.

 


 

Is this the last Isle of Man Round Pound?

In 2017 the Isle of Man released this Raven and Falcon Uncirculated £1 Coin and following the Treasury’s update, this could now be the very last Isle of Man Round Pound!

Click here to secure this coin for your collection >>

Now’s the time to start your 12 sided £1 coin collection…

It’s been confirmed that 2018 dated £1 coins have now been released into circulation and Change Checkers are eagerly waiting for them to turn up in their change.

As of yet, the number of 2018 £1 coins in circulation is unknown and so we expect collectors to be keeping a close look out for these coins so that they can add them to their one pound collection! 

The round pounds were a part of our lives for 33 years but on the 15th October 2017, the coins were withdrawn from circulation forever. Just before their withdrawal, collectors joined the biggest race of its kind ever held – The Great One Pound Coin Race.

In an effort to complete their collections, change checkers were searching old coat pockets, smashing piggy banks and checking down the back of the sofa to see if they could be the lucky owner of some of the rarest coins – including the Scotland Edinburgh City £1, which tops our £1 Scarcity Index.

12 sided £1 collection

Now that the 2018 dated 12 sided £1 coin has entered circulation, we think that it’s the perfect time to start building up your collection of 12 sided £1 coins to be sure that you don’t miss any from your collection.

The Nations of the Crown £1 design was chosen from a public competition, with the winning artwork being created by 15-year-old David Pearce featuring a rose, leek, thistle and shamrock bound by a crown. Although we do expect future commemorative designs on £1 coins, for now the coins issued only feature the definitive ‘nations of the crown’ design.

We know that of the 1.5 billion 12 sided £1 coins struck to replace the old round pound in 2017, roughly half a billion were dated 2016 and collectors will be keen to secure themselves a 2016 dated £1 coin to start their collection, which can now also include 2017 and 2018 dated coins.

What about the errors?

When these coins were first released, there were many stories from people claiming that they had found an error coin worth thousands. In reality, with such a high number of £1 coins being minted in 2017, there were bound to be variations in the design and quality of striking which you can find out about here.

However, the confirmed dual dated £1 error coin would certainly be one to look out for, with one such coin being valued at £3,000!

The Dual-Dated £1 feature the dates 2016 on the obverse and 2017 on the reverse

 

Have you been one of the first few to find a 2018 dated £1 coin in your change and will you be holding onto it for your 12 sided £1 coin collection? Let us know in the comments below and don’t forget to keep checking your change to see if you can spot the new 2018 pound.


If you’re interested in coin collecting, our Change Checker web app is completely free to use and allows users to:

– Find and identify the coins in their pocket
– Collect and track the coins they have
– Swap their spare coins with other Change Checkers

Sign up today at: www.changechecker.org/app

5 things you can still do with your Round Pounds

The deadline day to trade in your Round £1 coins has now been and gone yet it’s estimated that there’s still over 450 million coins in circulation.

It’s estimated that there are still over 450 million Round Pounds still in circulation.

However, don’t panic if you didn’t have time to return them to the bank or have found some in a forgotten piggybank, there’s a number of options for you.

Here’s a list of five things you can do with your old Round Pounds to ensure that you don’t lose out:

1. Check if your coin is rare

If you find a Round Pound, the first thing to do is check to see if it’s rare. The most accurate way to determine the rarity of a circulation coin is our Scarcity Index.

Our Scarcity Index is the most accurate way to determine the scarcity of your Round Pounds.

From our experience we know that the rarer a coin is, the more desirable it becomes to collectors.

Although they are unlikely to make you rich overnight, some of the rarest circulation £1 coins currently sell for up to £20 on eBay. We’d also expect this to increase slightly now the coins have been withdrawn from circulation.

2. Donate your coin to The RBL Poppy Appeal

The RBL will accept donated Round Pounds for the duration of their Poppy Appeal.

The Royal British Legion have announced that this year they’ll be accepting donated old pounds for the duration of their Poppy Appeal.

You can support the Armed Forces community by donating your coins right up until Remembrance Sunday which falls on the 12th November.

 3. Return your coin to the bank

You can still deposit your Round Pounds at high street banks but you’ll need to be quick as this is only a temporary measure and at the bank’s discretion.

 4. Spend your coin

A number of retailers have announced that they’ll continue to accept the Round Pound even though it is officially no longer legal tender.

Tesco and Poundland have agreed to continue accepting the Round Pound; Tesco for an extra week and Poundland until the 31st October.

The Federation of Small Businesses has also advised its members to continue accepting the round coins to provide a “useful community service” to customers.

5. Swap your coin using the Change Checker Swap Centre

You can list your Round Pounds as available to swap using our Swap Centre.

Now that an estimated 1.2 billion Round Pounds have been withdrawn from circulation by the Royal Mint, not forgetting the many thousands that have been added to private collections, it’s become increasingly difficult for collectors to complete their Round Pound sets.

If you find a Round Pound which you do not need, why not list it as available to swap on our Swap Centre? It may well be that it is the exact coin somebody is looking for.