One in every 50 British Pound coins are counterfeit
The BBC is reporting that the number of counterfeit British Pound coins in circulation has doubled in the last 5 years.
The number of fake £1 coins in circulation has doubled in the last five years and now stands at more than 30 million, the BBC has learned.
This means one in every 50 pound coins in circulation is counterfeit.
Experts believe the fakes are being produced by organised criminal gangs using specialist machinery.
The Royal Mint said it was illegal to make or use counterfeited coins and said people must hand them in if they thought they had one.
Although relatively easy to detect, their sheer number creates problems for shopkeepers, taxi drivers and other small traders who deal in cash for many of their transactions.
According to figures obtained by the BBC from the Royal Mint, random sampling tests carried out earlier this year showed that approximately 2% of pound coins are fake.
