The 300-Year Quest to Make a Foolproof £1 Coin
Sir Isaac Newton founded modern physics but struggled to make a coin that couldn't be counterfeited.
New British £1 coins have been stockpiled for the launch this week.
Photographer: Jason Alden/BloombergThis article is for subscribers only.
Can Britain’s oldest manufacturer beat modern counterfeiters?
With as many as 45 million British one-pound coins suspected fake, the Royal Mint is now making 1.5 billion new ones, which will enter circulation Tuesday. Security features include a 12-sided bimetallic design, a hologram, fine lettering and even some secret tricks to beat crooks, the modern equivalent of Sir Isaac Newton’s efforts to make the currency more secure in his tenure as Master of the Royal Mint some three centuries ago.