Just ahead of Budget Day, when George Osborne announces what is being done with taxes and government spending over the next year, the Treasury has announced a new pound coin.
The gold and silver (or whatever cheap metals closest resemble gold and silver) coin will be 12-sided and around the same size as the current pound coin, so it'll still fit into supermarket trolleys and vending machines. Based on the old-school thrupenny bit, it's to stop fraudsters from cashing in on faked coins – over 45 million of the pound coins in circulation in the UK are apparent forgeries.
‘It’s vital that we keep several paces ahead of the criminals to maintain the integrity of our currency,’ the Treasury said, according to Bloomberg. The new coin will use ‘cutting-edge British technology while at the same time paying a fitting tribute to the past’.
The coin will be introduced in 2017, and while the head side will include the head of the Queen, there is to be an open competition for designs for the tail side!
Though we believe it'll help combat fraud, there are some other theories as to why this coin has been announced:
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The budget's coming out today so it's just a ‘distraction’ from whatever Osborne is going to tax highest, whether it be cigarettes, cider or sausage rolls, according to The* Financial Times*'s assistant editor, Gillian Tett, speaking on Newsnight.
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The coin appeals to older voters according to Gillian. We suppose, it's to cheer them up. If you remember the war (when the coin became popular because it was easy to identify during blackouts), you'll remember its austerity measures, and if you remember them, you might start to question why such stringent ones are being introduced again. But then ooh, shiny coin!
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It's a(nother) very strong indicator that we won't be joining the Euro any time soon. Why make (print?!) all those new coins if we're just going to hop over to join the European currency?
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It's to distract just about everyone from the fact that Osborne is expected to announce a five-year cap on welfare spending from 2015. Though he'll probably announce a pre-tax personal income of £10,000 for everyone, this won't make up for proposed caps to welfare spending: ‘While millionaires have been given a huge tax cut, the truth is millions of hard-working people have seen their taxes go up,’ shadow treasury minister Chris Leslie told the BBC. ‘It is the same old Tory con - giving with one hand while taking away much more with the other.’
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Picture: The Royal Mint
This article originally appeared on The Debrief.