New pound coins in 2017

[augsburger]

http://www.royalmint.com/aboutus/news/the-new-1-pound-coin

NOTES TO EDITORS

There are many customer benefits to iSIS:

Both robust and secure, its issuance protects the reputation of a country, projecting a positive image of the nation and its economy.
It will reduce costs by replacing expensive clad and homogeneous coins with a more affordable full-plated option.
It will generate lifetime cost savings through unmatched durability, lasting up to 30 times longer than an equivalent value banknote
iSIS is not a surface coating so it will not wear off over time.

At the bottom they talk about iSIS, I'm not too sure what it is all about, but seems to be a security feature that won an innovation prize last year, and there's a lot more on this article about it.

[Figleaf]

link. The high-tech-hype-blah-smug company seems unable to produce video that actually runs on my 'puter, a low-tech MacBook Pro 2.6 Ghz with Intel HD Graphics 4000 1024MB capacity that otherwise just works.

Peter

[chrisild]

Well, the government does call it "a bi-metalic construction":
https://www.gov.uk/government/news/new-1-coin-announced

This iSIS thing is to some extent explained here:
http://www.royalmint.com/business/circulating-coin/isis
Don't think it has much to do with the question of whether a coin has one or two "color zones". But I might be wrong.

Christian

[chrisild]

Peter, the videos on that page work fine here. They are just embedded YouTube videos. Maybe the Royal Mint's website is a little "busy" today. Try the direct links:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T_-hl3H72nM
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PeEzUb_jn-I
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VUsnfWL09mw

Christian

[Figleaf]

That helped, Christian. Thanks. However, the video's didn't help. Just marketing fluff, no content.

Peter

[chrisild]

The ... umm, errr ... Daily Mail has a nice detailed view of the microtext:
http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2014/03/18/article-2583878-1C65E48500000578-72_634x624.jpg

Christian

[<k>]

A couple of views of the trial reverse, from the Royal Mint video. The design depicts the Royal Mint's logo.

Now we just need to know the weight and thickness.

[<k>]

And the micro-text. "ONE POUND ONE POUND".  1 + 1 = 2. 

[FosseWay]

the £2 is not that common in circulation.

I've often heard it said that £2 coins are rare in circulation, including from UK residents who are there all the time unlike you or me. My dad (in Sheffield) has also made such comments. But my experience (from when I lived there at any rate) is that they are plentiful - I used regularly to get four of them in change for a £10 note when buying lunch because there was more of a shortage of fivers. 

I think it may be a regional thing.

[Pabitra]

I've often heard it said that £2 coins are rare in circulation, including from UK residents who are there all the time unlike you or me.

I start my day from King's Cross and buy Off-peak travel card for zones 1 & 2 for the tube from the vending machine. I put £20 note and for card costing  £8, I always get balance in 2£ coins.
For me £2 coin happens to be the most common one.

[chrisild]

Ah, but isn't that like saying the $1 coin is quite common in the US?   Yes, my own experiences are limited of course. Maybe things change, or it does depend on where one is.

Have not found much info about iSIS by the way. But apparently that is a feature which could be built into any coin, bimetallic or "monometallic". It just makes authentication easier ...

Christian

[<k>]

When the 2 pound coin was first released, it was scarce at first, and at least until the Noughties, I would say. But here in London these days it circulates in profusion, and I find no difference when I visit my birth city of Newcastle. Gone are the days when I would moan about getting four heavy pound coins in change, to make holes in my pocket.

[UK Decimal +]

Plenty of £2 coins just east of London, as evidenced by http://www.worldofcoins.eu/forum/index.php?topic=26395.0.

There is, however, always a shortage of £5 notes. Perhaps the £5 coins should circulate?

[Pabitra]

Ah, but isn't that like saying the $1 coin is quite common in the US?  

My experience has been that nowhere in US, vending machine will either accept or dispense $1 coin.

Have not found much info about iSIS by the way. But apparently that is a feature which could be built into any coin, bimetallic or "monometallic". It just makes authentication easier ...

All info I could get was that it is plated with three layers. The middle layer gives the coin an electromagnetic signature, which can be fine-tuned to the extent that it can used  for authentication.
Also the top most layer has higher resistance to wear and ensures that electromagnetic signature does not change with usage of the coin.

[@josephjk]

My experience has been that nowhere in US, vending machine will either accept or dispense $1 coin.

Here in Texas, all the vending machines at my workplace and the ticket dispensing machines at rail stations, accept and give out dollar coins in change... that's where I get most of my coins from