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The Royal Mint produces the last-ever round pound coins - enjoy them while they last

Goodbye nugget

The Royal Mint produces the last-ever round pound coins - enjoy them while they last
18 December 2015

And here was us thinking they'd be a-round for ever.

The last set of round pound coins - aka a 'nugget', a 'paaaand', a 'one-er' - has been produced at the Royal Mint in Llantrisant, near Cardiff. They are being replaced by a new 12-sided £1 coin that will enter circulation in 2017 in an effort to tackle forgeries.

The new coin is purportedly one of the most secure in the world and will feature microtext on its edge, a more difficult shape and size to copy and two colours. It's not a million miles away from the current £2 coin, but only half as valuable. Obviously.

The current round pound was first made in 1983 - prior to the this, the pound was actually a note. Personally, we think the note should make a comeback, you'd feel like an absolute don just buying a round of drinks.

As it's been around for 32 years, it means that there are a host of counterfeit coins in circulation; there are believed to be more than 45 million of them, equivalent to 3 per cent of the total. Over its lifespan, there have been more than 2.2 billion round pound coins minted.

The move of course means that vending machines and the like will have to be adapted to take the new coins; or perhaps they can just retrain the magic mice that live inside to give out the correct change. That's what happens right?

(Image: Shutterstock)