Surge in number of fake pound coins -- Alarm at the Royal Mint as one in every 40 is found to be counterfeit

In a recent message pks wrote:

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...





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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.

That may be so, but it is a matter of making it difficult for the
counterfeiters.

Brass is relatively easy to get hold of, and when new looks much like the
existing nickel-brass alloy.

Bimetallic blanks are much harder to fabricate convincingly, which
is almost certainly why I have never seen a fake two-pound coin.

The French had trouble with their monometallic 10 franc coin, which is
why they went over to a smaller bimetallic version.

Comments about the coated lead versions are irrelevant - the modern
fakes are good quality imitations, and are hard to spot to the
casual observer (in legal terms, the man on the Clapham omnibus)

--
Tony Clayton
Coins of the UK : http://www.coins-of-the-uk.co.uk
Sent using RISCOS on an Acorn Strong Arm RiscPC
.... Even if you're not, be brave, no one can tell the difference.