Are these the most sophisticated fake £2 coins?
£2 coins were introduced in 1998 to prevent against counterfeiting and were the first bi-metallic coins to enter circulation in the UK.
£2 coins were first issued into circulation in 1998
Made with two different metal components, £2 coins are very complicated to manufacture and very difficult to counterfeit… or so we believed.
As we know, 1 in 30 £1 coins are fake. The Royal Mint are so concerned, they’ll be introducing a new 12-sided £1 coin in March which is billed to become the most secure circulating coin in the world.
But, this means that counterfeiters are now turning their attention to the £2 coin.
To begin with, early £2 counterfeit coins were just a lump of led tin alloy, spray painted to look like a genuine £2 coin and were easy to tell apart from the real thing.
Now, they’re becoming a lot harder to spot, even by professionals. Some fake £2 coins are even being accepted in vending machines and car parking machines.
So how many fakes are out there and who’s responsible?
Fraudsters require a highly sophisticated press to produce bi-colour coins. It’s thought that there are hundreds of thousands of fake £2 coins in circulation and is definitely a form of organised crime.
Can you spot one?
There are a few simple ways to tell if you have a fake £2 coin. One of the most obvious ways to spot a fake is by comparing the quality of the writing on the edge inscription to a genuine coin and also checking that the edge inscription matches the design.
However there are still some fake £2 coins that pass the two tests above.
According to experts, fakes can usually be detected by the weight. Genuine £2 coins should weigh 12g, but these remarkable new counterfeit £2 coins are also weighing in at 12g.
Each UK denomination is made up of different compositions which are agreed between The Royal Mint and HM Treasury but the exact amount is kept top secret.
The only way to find out for definite if the coin is real or fake is for it to be x-rayed by a special machine which gives a reading of all the different elements that have gone into the coin.
So should we be increasing the security of the £2 coins to make it harder for them to be counterfeited?
Let us know your thoughts via Facebook, Twitter or leave us a comment below.
Is it time to scrap the Penny?
Pennies have been around in Britain for over a thousand years, but is it now time for the penny to be dropped?
Mark Carney, Bank of England Governor, thinks it is inevitable that Britain will follow countries such as Canada, New Zealand and Australia and scrap the penny.
As Governor of the Bank of Canada he oversaw the withdrawal of the 1p coin equivalent and claims the process was really successful among Canadians.
Not only was the 1 cent coin unmissed by Canadians and reduced the cost of transactions for both businesses and the Government, a massive $11m was saved in the first year by discontinuing the production of the coins.
But are we ready to say farewell to the British Penny?
The Penny has been around for over 1,200 years.
The Penny was one of the earliest British coins, first minted in the 8th century AD.
The silver penny became universal throughout Britain in 959 and until the reign of Henry III in 1234 it was one of the only denominations minted.
The Penny even survived decimalisation in 1971 making it one of the only denominations that was kept during the changeover.
Although it’s fair to say that pennies are rarely used to buy anything, it’s thought that an estimated 11.2 billion pennies are currently in circulation.
What about Ireland’s ‘Rounding’ Initiative?
In October 2015, Ireland lauched its ‘Rounding’ initiative. It aimed to reduce the use of 1 cent and 2 cent coins by rounding the total amount of any bill paid by cash on a voluntary basis up or down to the nearest 5 cent mark.
So far, 126 million coins have been taken out of circulation. So could Britain follow in the same footsteps as Ireland?
As with any coin, the loss of the penny would be a blow to coin collectors everywhere. But we must remember that these changes are part of what makes coin collecting so interesting. Designs change, new coins come into existence and some coins will inevitably disappear.
So should we get rid of the Penny? Let us know in our poll:
[polldaddy poll=9536812]
Check your FIVER now – it could be worth £100+
Last week the Bank of England launched its first ever plastic banknote. And they are already fetching HUNDREDS of pounds online.
An Ebay listing of an AA Serial number Banknote with bids in excess of £100
The notes have already proved popular with the public, but now they might even be worth a LOT more than £5.
The new £5 notes are printed on Polymer – a thin and flexible plastic material. This means that these new notes are cleaner, safer and stronger than paper notes and feature added security features.
Polymer £5 Banknotes were released into circulation last week
Now’s the time to check your fiver to see if you have one of the first notes to be printed!
The first banknotes to be printed will carry a serial number starting with AA01 and will then be followed by a six-digit number.
The serial number of the first note printed is AA01 000001 which was given as a gift to the Queen.
440million of the notes have been printed and distribution into banks and cash machines is expected to be completed by the end of next week. There are 999,999 new fivers with the AA01 prefix, so you never know, there’s still a chance to find one with a special serial number.
On 3rd October, the Bank of England is auctioning off a batch of low serial number banknotes. The lowest number Bank of England polymer £5 available to the public is expected to fetch a staggering £800 – £1200 at the charity event.
This banknote is expected to fetch between £800 and £1200 for charity
So dig out that brand new fiver you’ve been keeping safe and see if you’ve won the low serial number lottery! You could be carrying a fortune around in your wallet!