Isle of Man: New 1 pound coin

[eurocoin]

How do you mean by St Helena acting unusual, eurocoin?

In January 2018 they told me that they were not planning to issue a new 1 pound coin but that a redesign would be considered at the next time of minting of their 1 pound coin (which was going to be in 2018). However when I once more asked about their plans for changes to their 1 pound coin in November of last year they seemed reluctant to give a reply and in fact I am yet to receive a reply on that which is unusual as they normally always reply fast.

[Alan71]

Of course, most will issue their own versions. Too many collectors who need to be fleeced 

Of the six, I'm not sure about Jersey and Guernsey.  Neither have jumped on the commemorative 50p/£2 coin bandwagon, and neither seem that interested in commemoratives generally (the £5 coins use their names but aren't often for events relating to their territories).  The Falklands, having gone with Pobjoy (penguins, anyone?) might do, though as far as I'm aware the Royal Mint still produces their standard circulation coinage.

Gibraltar and Isle of Man almost certainly will do, although both have issued new designs for their old, round £1 in the last two years.

St Helena-Ascension appear to be playing their cards close to their chest (thanks eurocoin for that info) which I agree might indicate that they intend to issue it.

Does that mean that, until this announcement by the UK Treasury, the six territories weren't allowed to issue their own version of the 12-sided £1? 

[eurocoin]

Hmm. I don't know. The treasurer of Gibraltar has always said that it was only a matter of the mint getting enough blanks in stock, which it so far didn't have. The question was when rather then if they would get their own versions.

I think this announcement is very strange. I mean HM Treasury announces it at midnight on a Sunday night and the Royal Mint, which usually is never active in the weekends also wrote about it on social media. It smells like a PR campaign. And then I haven't mentioned the ridiculous list of crown dependencies and territories yet that HM Treasury included in their statement,  many of which do not have (1 pound) coins in circulation.

[Alan71]

Yes, I noticed that.  It was the full list of territories when only six of them have their own issues of Sterling-based currencies. 

It can be argued that, as some of them still have £1 notes and we are moving towards a more cashless society anyway, are these £1 coins really needed?  Jersey and Guernsey coins aren't commonly seen in circulation anyway, and £1 coins were even more rare because of the abundance of local currency £1 notes and UK pound coins.

[<k>]

Does that mean that, until this announcement by the UK Treasury, the six territories weren't allowed to issue their own version of the 12-sided £1?

The UK does not exert such draconian control over the territories. More likely there was a lot of technical planning at the Mint for the new versions, and also discussion in the territories about whether it was desirable and the design to choose. Look at the history of "the seven": the UK was the last to drop "NEW" from its coinage; Guernsey was first to trial a circulation round pound of similar dimensions to the UK coin - in 1981, two years before the UK. Of course, IOM had a very thin round pound in the late 1970s, and Jersey also produced a square pound coin in 1981 - a commemorative, I believe. And then Jersey, Guernsey and the Falklands issued flat 20p coins, without the wide rim that appears on the UK version. Historically, the territories have had plenty of rein with their coinage, because they are given maximum freedom from the UK. If IOM wanted to adopt the ruble, of course, or something similar, I'm sure the UK government would have something to say about it! But such extreme situations are unlikely to arise.

[redlock]

Of the six, I'm not sure about Jersey and Guernsey. 

The cynic in me was a bit too fast. I just remembered Bimat's post from Feb. 2017
http://www.worldofcoins.eu/forum/index.php/topic,38146.0.html

So, it's indeed quite possible that Guernsey and Jersey will not issue their version of the 12 Sided £1 coin anytime soon.

[eurocoin]

The Isle of Man Government has today once more emphasized that they currently have no plans for the introduction of a 12-sided pound coin although it may be considered in the future, for example when counterfeit coins turn up in circulation.