Number of fake coins double

[22 September 2008]

The number of fake £1 coins in circulation in the last five years has doubled and the number now stands at more than 30million.

This amounts to one in every fifty pound coins in circulation being counterfeit. It is believed that the coins are being produced by organised criminal gangs who use specialist machinery. The Royal Mint did random sampling tests earlier this year and found that approximately 2% of coins are fake. The last time the Royal Mint released forgery figures in 2003, the number of fakes was estimated to be 1%. The euro was found to be far more 'secure' - of the 13million coins in circulation, 10million are thought to be fakes, which is less than 0.1% of the total. People are being advised to hand-in counterfeit coins if they think they have one.

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