Businesses and services in North Thanet/Herne Bay need to be preparing now for the introduction of the new £1 coin that will be launched in March 2017 says the area`s MP, Sir Roger Gale.

 

Speaking at the House of Commons following a presentation by The Royal Mint the MP said:

 

"There is a vast number of outlets that use coin machines in my constituency. They range from seaside amusement arcades through civic and hospital car-parking services to the many small businesses that use coin-handling devices.

 

The new 12-sided £1 coin with rounded edges and corners is being minted now and will be introduced as legal currency in March of next year. There will then be a six-month `co-circulation` period during which both old and new coins will be useable but in the Autumn of 2017 the old round pound coin will cease to be accepted - so the time to start planning is now - not in September 2017"!

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The Royal Mint claims that, unlike its predecessor which has been counterfeited in thousands, the new £1, based on a design by a 15-year old schoolboy and featuring the emblems of the United Kingdom emerging from a coronet, will be the most secure circulating coin in the world.