The United Kingdom is introducing a new 12-sided £1 coin that is supposedly "the most secure coin in circulation in the world." It replaces the current circular (and frankly, less fancy) design as the country beefs up its security measures to prevent counterfeiting. The Royal Mint will begin rolling out the coin in 2017, pending approval from parliament.
Since 45 million £1 coins are fake, the new design uses Integrated Secure Identification System technology to make them more difficult to counterfeit. "ISIS has three tiers of banknote-strength security and can be authenticated via high-speed automated detection at all points within the cash cycle," explains Reuters. The Queen's head will still be on the front, but the public will vote on what appears on the opposite side. We hope it's Victoria Beckham. --Jordan Valinsky
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
-
National Enquirer helped Trump in 2016, ex-boss saysSpeed Read David Pecker says the tabloid published fabricated content to hurt Trump's rivals
-
Congress starts clock on TikTok ban in foreign aid billSpeed Read Lawmakers believe that the app poses a national security threat
-
Pros and cons of universal health carePros and Cons A medical system that serves everyone comes with its own costs, and they're not only financial
-
Puffed rice and yoga: inside the collapsed tunnel where Indian workers await rescueSpeed Read Workers trapped in collapsed tunnel are suffering from dysentery and anxiety over their rescue
-
More than 2,000 dead following massive earthquake in MoroccoSpeed Read
-
Mexico's next president will almost certainly be its 1st female presidentSpeed Read
-
North Korea's Kim to visit Putin in eastern Russia to discuss arms sales for Ukraine war, U.S. saysSpeed Read
-
Gabon's military leader sworn in following coup in latest African uprisingSpeed Read
-
Nobody seems surprised Wagner's Prigozhin died under suspicious circumstancesSpeed Read
-
Western mountain climbers allegedly left Pakistani porter to die on K2Speed Read
-
'Circular saw blades' divide controversial Rio Grande buoys installed by Texas governorSpeed Read
