Coin has WiFi and a microphone and sends data to the nearest surveillance spot if it is in range.
If they weren't metallic, it wouldn't be a bad idea to put some RFID in them, or even set some secret handshake to automatically detect false coins.
The new £1 Coin
271–280 of 421 posts
Re: The new £1 Coin
#272Earlier quoted context omitted.
Interesting. Thanks for the links. I have indeed had some pound coins which were tatty round the edges and had to be pushed through a self-service checkout several times or wouldn't even go through at all. I still hadn't realised they might be fake, though. I have noticed that a lot of old 10p coins are noticeably a lot thinner (presumably worn down rather than starting out thinner) than new ones. Is this as it shoul…
I have noticed that a lot of old 10p coins are noticeably a lot thinner (presumably worn down rather than starting out thinner) Prior to about 2010, 5p and 10p coins really were thinner. They were changed from copper/nickel alloy (Cupronickel) to nickel-plated steel to reduce costs. But in order to maintain the same weight, the coins had to be made thicker.
Didn't know that - thanks!
You can get answers on so many topics on HN...
Re: The new £1 Coin
#273For any interested in the related costs: https://www.theguardian.com/money/2014/mar/19/cost-new-pound... Seems like there are £45m worth of counterfeit coins in circulation, but the switch may cost over £100 million. ____ EDIT: The percent of fake coins in circulation appears to be in flux, which makes me wonder what methods they use to estimate the fakes in circulation, if they use controls like injecting known fake…
So there was no point in doing it? This seems super weird for a financial institution that should be looking at hard data; maybe they did some analysis about the increasing ease of forgery?
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Re: The new £1 Coin
#274Re: The new £1 Coin
#275Earlier quoted context omitted.
You mix in legitimate coins, and deposit them at a bank in Northern Ireland as takings from your (real) businesses. With a rotating cast of 20-ish fronts (each with multiple bank accounts), you could put in £1MM+ a month easy & transfer it onwards as normal-looking purchases. Note that this was a great way to get millions of coins into circulation back in the early 2000s, not so easy now.
Don't vending machines have the ability to check by weight/size? Couldn't a bank just have that in their counting machine? If you have like 50% fakes it is going to look fishy.
Most banks don't bother. Also, most counterfeit pound coins are made from redirected planchets (blank coin base) intended to be used as Swazi lilangeni (or just restriked lilangeni), so they are identical in size, weight, and material composition to legitimate pound coins (since they use the same planchet).
Re: The new £1 Coin
#276Re: The new £1 Coin
#277Earlier quoted context omitted.
But, what do you do with your counterfeit coins? You've invested all this money and effort in minting equipment, but it would look extremely weird to spend more than like 20 at once. Unless they can fool machines, it seems very inefficient.
The UK has a large market in coin-operated gambling machines - there are heavily-regulated low-stakes ones in all kinds of non-casino locations and, I think, higher-stakes ones in legal betting shops. A relative who works in the industry told me he sees large numbers of counterfeit pound coins. I would guess counterfeiters might launder coins through machines. Or even, though I've never seen it, sell discount coins d…
Many gambling machines have a 70% return. Ie. 70% of money put in is paid out again.
One could probably go to a casino with a bag of fake coins, put 50 in each machine, and take any and all winnings. Some machines even pay out winnings in notes.
Re: The new £1 Coin
#278That coin is a beauty. It looks like it would be a denomination much higher than £1.
As someone who collected coins a child, I've been a tad disappointed by some of the newer designs coming out of the US Mint. Some are classy, others seem a bit goofy.
But this new pound coin is very tasteful. Well done, Royal Mint!
Re: The new £1 Coin
#279> "Approximately one in thirty £1 coins in circulation is a counterfeit." That took me completely by surprise. Is there really that much of a market in counterfeit coins? The profit margins just seem so modest relative to counterfeit bills.
>Is there really that much of a market in counterfeit coins? Take the amount of £1 coins in circulation. Sum the value. Divide by 30. Equals the market in counterfeit coins. From http://www.royalmint.com/discover/uk-coins/circulation-coin-... £1 are 1,671.328 £m / 30 = 55.71 £m The market in counterfeit coins is therefore over 55 million pounds. This is, however the cumulative, total value of the market and not per y…
It also depends on the rate the counterfeits are being removed from circulation by bank sorting machines.
Re: The new £1 Coin
#280For any interested in the related costs: https://www.theguardian.com/money/2014/mar/19/cost-new-pound... Seems like there are £45m worth of counterfeit coins in circulation, but the switch may cost over £100 million. ____ EDIT: The percent of fake coins in circulation appears to be in flux, which makes me wonder what methods they use to estimate the fakes in circulation, if they use controls like injecting known fake…
Yes I wondered about the 'more secure' claim - secure for whom? I don't have any trouble spending counterfeit coins that may end up in my pocket. Where's the issue? Not with the public.
For comparison, the American $100 bill was widely counterfeited (by the Libyans?) to the tune of maybe a billion dollars in circulation. The US Treasury left it be for years - too costly to detect the very good copies. Eventually bills were reformulated to include harder-to-copy features but for years the only response was to print fewer. Since so many good ones were in circulation already.