If this is your first visit, be sure to check out the FAQ by clicking the link above. You may have to register before you can post: click the register link above to proceed. To start viewing messages, select the forum that you want to visit from the selection below. |
|
|
|
Thread Tools | Display Modes |
#1
|
|||
|
|||
Surge in number of fake pound coins -- Alarm at the Royal Mint as one in every 40 is found to be counterfeit
FROM:
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk...s-1519082.html Surge in number of fake pound coins Alarm at the Royal Mint as one in every 40 is found to be counterfeit By Martin Hickman, Consumer Affairs Correspondent Thursday, 29 January 2009 Criminal gangs have dramatically increased their output of counterfeit £1 coins in the past year, pumping millions of fakes into the economy and threatening to undermine public confidence in the money supply. Sampling by the Royal Mint of coins in circulation across Britain has found that the number in circulation rose by 27 per cent during 2008, raising the amount of sham coinage to £37.5m - or one £1 coin in every 40 - the highest since the coin was introduced in 1983. In 2002, one in 100 £1 coins was a worthless fake and in 2007 one in 50. Royal Mint officials are considering launching a public information campaign to warn the public how to spot the fakes. Technically any person handing one over is breaking the law, meaning that millions of people are unwittingly committing a crime every year, but many of the fakes closely reproduce the metallic compound used by the Royal Mint, making them hard to detect by bank counting machines. The rise in forgeries, revealed in documents obtained by The Independent, prompted a warning from an expert that their prevalence could undermine confidence in the money supply. "If the public starts losing confidence in coins and notes, you get people refusing to take them," said Robert Matthews, who retired as Chief Assayer of the Royal Mint in 2002. "It could damage a lot of small shopkeepers doing lots of small transactions." The latest results suggest many people encounter bogus cash weekly, or daily if they handle money in a shop, pub, café or other business. The Mint checked 15,481 coins supplied by banks and post offices at 31 places across the UK in October and November 2008. On average, the proportion of fake £1 coins since November and December 2007 rose from 2.06 per cent to 2.58 per cent. There were much higher levels of fakes in Northern Ireland (3.6 per cent) and London and the South-east (2.97 per cent). They were lowest in the North-west. Concerned officials at the Royal Mint have opened talks with the Treasury and the police on the problem. Bank and building society tellers may be given specialist training. Mint officials are also talking to vending operators about whether they need to tighten their mechanisms so they reject more coins, which could mean more frustration for those trying to buy parking tickets, drinks or cigarettes. Martin Cragg, Royal Mint head of corporate affairs, said: "A number of measures are being undertaken by the Royal Mint with third parties to combat counterfeiting, including HM Treasury, the banks, vending operators and law-enforcement agencies. "In particular, we are considering whether it would be appropriate and helpful to issue further publicity material which may assist the public and others to identify counterfeit coins." Little is known about the counterfeiters - few have been caught in recent years. One theory is that blank coins from Italy and eastern Europe are "headed and tailed" by lower-level criminals in the UK. ... |
Ads |
#2
|
|||
|
|||
Surge in number of fake pound coins -- Alarm at the Royal Mintas one in every 40 is found to be counterfeit
Arizona Coin Collector wrote:
FROM: http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk...s-1519082.html Surge in number of fake pound coins Alarm at the Royal Mint as one in every 40 is found to be counterfeit By Martin Hickman, Consumer Affairs Correspondent Thursday, 29 January 2009 Criminal gangs have dramatically increased their output of counterfeit £1 coins in the past year, pumping millions of fakes into the economy and threatening to undermine public confidence in the money supply. Sampling by the Royal Mint of coins in circulation across Britain has found that the number in circulation rose by 27 per cent during 2008, raising the amount of sham coinage to £37.5m - or one £1 coin in every 40 - the highest since the coin was introduced in 1983. [major snippage] Short of the UK potentially soon going with the Euro, me thinks that the time has come for the Royal Mint to change the composition of the £1. If it is really THAT bad (1:40 is now fake), I'd seriously consider not accepting £1 coins at all if I were a British shop keeper. Ditto in change as an average consumer. Would a USA-style clad style work? -- ___________________________________________ ____ _______________ Regards, | |\ ____ | | | | |\ Michael G. Koerner May they | | | | | | rise again! Appleton, Wisconsin USA | | | | | | ___________________________________________ | | | | | | _______________ |
#3
|
|||
|
|||
Surge in number of fake pound coins -- Alarm at the Royal Mint as one in every 40 is found to be counterfeit
"Michael G. Koerner" wrote in message ... Arizona Coin Collector wrote: FROM: http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk...s-1519082.html Surge in number of fake pound coins Alarm at the Royal Mint as one in every 40 is found to be counterfeit By Martin Hickman, Consumer Affairs Correspondent Thursday, 29 January 2009 Criminal gangs have dramatically increased their output of counterfeit £1 coins in the past year, pumping millions of fakes into the economy and threatening to undermine public confidence in the money supply. Sampling by the Royal Mint of coins in circulation across Britain has found that the number in circulation rose by 27 per cent during 2008, raising the amount of sham coinage to £37.5m - or one £1 coin in every 40 - the highest since the coin was introduced in 1983. [major snippage] Short of the UK potentially soon going with the Euro, me thinks that the time has come for the Royal Mint to change the composition of the £1. If it is really THAT bad (1:40 is now fake), I'd seriously consider not accepting £1 coins at all if I were a British shop keeper. Ditto in change as an average consumer. Would a USA-style clad style work? -- ___________________________________________ ____ _______________ Regards, | |\ ____ | | | | |\ Michael G. Koerner May they | | | | | | rise again! Appleton, Wisconsin USA | | | | | | ___________________________________________ | | | | | | _______________ Hello I was curious if the counterfeit coin problem exist due to how the coins are made, or the ease of the raw material that counterfeiters can get? Changing the coin specification, and making sure the raw material to make the coins can only be made and sold to the Royal Mint. ... |
#4
|
|||
|
|||
Surge in number of fake pound coins -- Alarm at the Royal Mintas one in every 40 is found to be counterfeit
Arizona Coin Collector wrote:
"Michael G. Koerner" wrote in message ... Arizona Coin Collector wrote: FROM: http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk...s-1519082.html Surge in number of fake pound coins Alarm at the Royal Mint as one in every 40 is found to be counterfeit By Martin Hickman, Consumer Affairs Correspondent Thursday, 29 January 2009 Criminal gangs have dramatically increased their output of counterfeit £1 coins in the past year, pumping millions of fakes into the economy and threatening to undermine public confidence in the money supply. Sampling by the Royal Mint of coins in circulation across Britain has found that the number in circulation rose by 27 per cent during 2008, raising the amount of sham coinage to £37.5m - or one £1 coin in every 40 - the highest since the coin was introduced in 1983. [major snippage] Short of the UK potentially soon going with the Euro, me thinks that the time has come for the Royal Mint to change the composition of the £1. If it is really THAT bad (1:40 is now fake), I'd seriously consider not accepting £1 coins at all if I were a British shop keeper. Ditto in change as an average consumer. Would a USA-style clad style work? ------------------ Hello I was curious if the counterfeit coin problem exist due to how the coins are made, or the ease of the raw material that counterfeiters can get? Changing the coin specification, and making sure the raw material to make the coins can only be made and sold to the Royal Mint. British £1 coins are about the same diameter, but with about twice the thickness, of a USA/Canada/Euro 5¢ coin and are made out of a sort of pea-greenish solid metal alloy. Just holding a real one in my hand (and I have gotten a couple of them over the years), I can't help but notice that they have a look and feel that tells me that they would be a fairly easy coin to fake. Just having the Royal Mint change their metal to a USA-style clad composition, perhaps using the same alloys and clad layers as USA Sacs/Prezzies, while leaving everything else about them (diameter/thickness/reeding/edge lettering/obverse and reverse designs) as they are now would, IMHO, substantially improve their security. I almost NEVER hear of any problems with counterfeit USA clad coins, including the various $1s. -- ___________________________________________ ____ _______________ Regards, | |\ ____ | | | | |\ Michael G. Koerner May they | | | | | | rise again! Appleton, Wisconsin USA | | | | | | ___________________________________________ | | | | | | _______________ |
#5
|
|||
|
|||
Surge in number of fake pound coins -- Alarm at the Royal Mint as one in every 40 is found to be counterfeit
Perhaps a bi-metallic £1 coin is now called for but it may be too expensive
for a coin with a low face value. The recent total redesign was a chance to come up with a bi-metallic £1 coin. Billy "Arizona Coin Collector" wrote in message m... FROM: http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk...s-1519082.html Surge in number of fake pound coins Alarm at the Royal Mint as one in every 40 is found to be counterfeit By Martin Hickman, Consumer Affairs Correspondent Thursday, 29 January 2009 Criminal gangs have dramatically increased their output of counterfeit £1 coins in the past year, pumping millions of fakes into the economy and threatening to undermine public confidence in the money supply. Sampling by the Royal Mint of coins in circulation across Britain has found that the number in circulation rose by 27 per cent during 2008, raising the amount of sham coinage to £37.5m - or one £1 coin in every 40 - the highest since the coin was introduced in 1983. In 2002, one in 100 £1 coins was a worthless fake and in 2007 one in 50. Royal Mint officials are considering launching a public information campaign to warn the public how to spot the fakes. Technically any person handing one over is breaking the law, meaning that millions of people are unwittingly committing a crime every year, but many of the fakes closely reproduce the metallic compound used by the Royal Mint, making them hard to detect by bank counting machines. The rise in forgeries, revealed in documents obtained by The Independent, prompted a warning from an expert that their prevalence could undermine confidence in the money supply. "If the public starts losing confidence in coins and notes, you get people refusing to take them," said Robert Matthews, who retired as Chief Assayer of the Royal Mint in 2002. "It could damage a lot of small shopkeepers doing lots of small transactions." The latest results suggest many people encounter bogus cash weekly, or daily if they handle money in a shop, pub, café or other business. The Mint checked 15,481 coins supplied by banks and post offices at 31 places across the UK in October and November 2008. On average, the proportion of fake £1 coins since November and December 2007 rose from 2.06 per cent to 2.58 per cent. There were much higher levels of fakes in Northern Ireland (3.6 per cent) and London and the South-east (2.97 per cent). They were lowest in the North-west. Concerned officials at the Royal Mint have opened talks with the Treasury and the police on the problem. Bank and building society tellers may be given specialist training. Mint officials are also talking to vending operators about whether they need to tighten their mechanisms so they reject more coins, which could mean more frustration for those trying to buy parking tickets, drinks or cigarettes. Martin Cragg, Royal Mint head of corporate affairs, said: "A number of measures are being undertaken by the Royal Mint with third parties to combat counterfeiting, including HM Treasury, the banks, vending operators and law-enforcement agencies. "In particular, we are considering whether it would be appropriate and helpful to issue further publicity material which may assist the public and others to identify counterfeit coins." Little is known about the counterfeiters - few have been caught in recent years. One theory is that blank coins from Italy and eastern Europe are "headed and tailed" by lower-level criminals in the UK. .. |
#6
|
|||
|
|||
Surge in number of fake pound coins -- Alarm at the Royal Mint as one in every 40 is found to be counterfeit
"Arizona Coin Collector" wrote in message m... "Michael G. Koerner" wrote in message ... Arizona Coin Collector wrote: FROM: http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk...s-1519082.html Surge in number of fake pound coins Alarm at the Royal Mint as one in every 40 is found to be counterfeit By Martin Hickman, Consumer Affairs Correspondent Thursday, 29 January 2009 Criminal gangs have dramatically increased their output of counterfeit £1 coins in the past year, pumping millions of fakes into the economy and threatening to undermine public confidence in the money supply. Sampling by the Royal Mint of coins in circulation across Britain has found that the number in circulation rose by 27 per cent during 2008, raising the amount of sham coinage to £37.5m - or one £1 coin in every 40 - the highest since the coin was introduced in 1983. [major snippage] Short of the UK potentially soon going with the Euro, me thinks that the time has come for the Royal Mint to change the composition of the £1. If it is really THAT bad (1:40 is now fake), I'd seriously consider not accepting £1 coins at all if I were a British shop keeper. Ditto in change as an average consumer. Would a USA-style clad style work? -- ___________________________________________ ____ _______________ Regards, | |\ ____ | | | | |\ Michael G. Koerner May they | | | | | | rise again! Appleton, Wisconsin USA | | | | | | ___________________________________________ | | | | | | _______________ Hello I was curious if the counterfeit coin problem exist due to how the coins are made, or the ease of the raw material that counterfeiters can get? Changing the coin specification, and making sure the raw material to make the coins can only be made and sold to the Royal Mint. .. Many fakes are made from a lead like metal with a gold coloured coating that can be easily scraped off, they are low tech. Billy |
#7
|
|||
|
|||
Surge in number of fake pound coins -- Alarm at the Royal Mint as one in every 40 is found to be counterfeit
On Thu, 29 Jan 2009 01:16:50 -0600, "Michael G. Koerner"
wrote: I almost NEVER hear of any problems with counterfeit USA clad coins, including the various $1s. They are counterfeited -- the end result that I've seen is a brass slug with OK design elements. No hint of even trying to get the cladding right. Otherwise a little thinner and lighter than a real coin and sounds rather different. I guess they figured (at the time) that the things were new enough no one would really notice. Now with everyone looking at the edges for errors, I'm sure the lack of cladding would be noticed. Padraic |
#8
|
|||
|
|||
Surge in number of fake pound coins -- Alarm at the Royal Mint asone in every 40 is found to be counterfeit
Arizona Coin Collector wrote: I was curious if the counterfeit coin problem exist due to how the coins are made, or the ease of the raw material that counterfeiters can get? Changing the coin specification, and making sure the raw material to make the coins can only be made and sold to the Royal Mint. An interesting thing happend a few years ago with the New Zealand $2 coins. The specifications were sent to the BRM and they made the coins from 1990-1996. The South African mint came in with a lower bid in 1997, and the contract was awarded to them, using the same specifications. However, not long afterwards, there seemed to be a problem with vending machines (slot machines IIRC) accepting the South African made coins. As it turns out, it was the electronic signature. Now, this is the weird part...the fault was not with the South African Mint, they made the coins to specs...it was the BRM that screwed it up. Long story short, most of the 1997 NZ$2 were returned to the South African Mint (at THEIR expense). This caused a shortage of this date/ denomination. The NZ$2 coins are again being minted by the BRM, using the wrong specs, but consistent with the 1990-1996 issues. |
#9
|
|||
|
|||
Surge in number of fake pound coins -- Alarm at the Royal Mint asone in every 40 is found to be counterfeit
On 29 Jan, 03:34, "Michael G. Koerner" wrote:
Arizona Coin Collector wrote: [major snippage] Short of the UK potentially soon going with the Euro, me thinks that the time has come for the Royal Mint to change the composition of the £1. *If it is really THAT bad (1:40 is now fake), I'd seriously consider not accepting £1 coins at all if I were a British shop keeper. *Ditto in change as an average consumer. The shopkeepers have no idea that the problem exists. I put £10 into a change machine in an arcade and got out 10 £1 coins. I then put one of the self-same coins in the machine to change into 50p's. It rejected it. Obviouly the machine had been loaded inadvertently with a fake coin. I went to the assistant and told her I got a fake coin from her machine. She looked a bit suspicious and clearly didn't know £1s were faked. She replaced my coin anyway. Most fakes are not accepted by vending machines. I used to think it was the machine's fault, but then I realised they were fakes, you could see the poor quality quite easily. |
#10
|
|||
|
|||
Surge in number of fake pound coins -- Alarm at the Royal Mint asone in every 40 is found to be counterfeit
On Jan 29, 3:24*pm, "note.boy" wrote:
Perhaps a bi-metallic £1 coin is now called for but it may be too expensive for a coin with a low face value. The recent total redesign was a chance to come up with a bi-metallic £1 coin. *Billy "Arizona Coin Collector" wrote in messagenews:1sadnQUiJfTDihzUnZ2dnUVZ_qninZ2d@earth link.com... FROM: http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk...ber-of-fake-po... Surge in number of fake pound coins Alarm at the Royal Mint as one in every 40 is found to be counterfeit By Martin Hickman, Consumer Affairs Correspondent Thursday, 29 January 2009 Criminal gangs have dramatically increased their output of counterfeit £1 coins in the past year, pumping millions of fakes into the economy and threatening to undermine public confidence in the money supply. Sampling by the Royal Mint of coins in circulation across Britain has found that the number in circulation rose by 27 per cent during 2008, raising the amount of sham coinage to £37.5m - or one £1 coin in every 40 - the highest since the coin was introduced in 1983. In 2002, one in 100 £1 coins was a worthless fake and in 2007 one in 50. Royal Mint officials are considering launching a public information campaign to warn the public how to spot the fakes. Technically any person handing one over is breaking the law, meaning that millions of people are unwittingly committing a crime every year, but many of the fakes closely reproduce the metallic compound used by the Royal Mint, making them hard to detect by bank counting machines. The rise in forgeries, revealed in documents obtained by The Independent, prompted a warning from an expert that their prevalence could undermine confidence in the money supply. "If the public starts losing confidence in coins and notes, you get people refusing to take them," said Robert Matthews, who retired as Chief Assayer of the Royal Mint in 2002. "It could damage a lot of small shopkeepers doing lots of small transactions." The latest results suggest many people encounter bogus cash weekly, or daily if they handle money in a shop, pub, café or other business. The Mint checked 15,481 coins supplied by banks and post offices at 31 places across the UK in October and November 2008. On average, the proportion of fake £1 coins since November and December 2007 rose from 2.06 per cent to 2.58 per cent. There were much higher levels of fakes in Northern Ireland (3.6 per cent) and London and the South-east (2.97 per cent). They were lowest in the North-west. Concerned officials at the Royal Mint have opened talks with the Treasury and the police on the problem. Bank and building society tellers may be given specialist training. Mint officials are also talking to vending operators about whether they need to tighten their mechanisms so they reject more coins, which could mean more frustration for those trying to buy parking tickets, drinks or cigarettes. Martin Cragg, Royal Mint head of corporate affairs, said: "A number of measures are being undertaken by the Royal Mint with third parties to combat counterfeiting, including HM Treasury, the banks, vending operators and law-enforcement agencies. "In particular, we are considering whether it would be appropriate and helpful to issue further publicity material which may assist the public and others to identify counterfeit coins." Little is known about the counterfeiters - few have been caught in recent years. One theory is that blank coins from Italy and eastern Europe are "headed and tailed" by lower-level criminals in the UK. ..- Hide quoted text - - Show quoted text - What makes you think that bimetallic fakes are not difficult to make. I have seen couple of good bimetallic fakes of Euro, Potuguese Escudo and Morroco Dinars in Italy. PKS |
|
Thread Tools | |
Display Modes | |
|
|
Similar Threads | ||||
Thread | Thread Starter | Forum | Replies | Last Post |
Fake pound coins in the news again | [email protected] | Coins | 3 | September 26th 08 01:43 PM |
Fake pound coins | [email protected] | Coins | 11 | June 15th 07 12:09 AM |
`British counterfeit one-pound coins | Gwent_Boy | Coins | 4 | May 3rd 07 07:55 PM |
Fake pound coins! | [email protected] | Coins | 14 | January 11th 06 03:55 PM |