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Here's a shiny new £1 coin - what was that about the budget? Here's a shiny new £1 coin - what was that about the budget?
(about 7 hours later)
The new pound coin rolled into the public domain overnight. And it is hard to look at the pictures, ubiquitous this morning, without a disgracefully touchy-feely, yes, I fear, even protectively feminine response. Isn't it sweet? Doesn't it have something perfectly reflective of our quirky national identity that the present pound coin roundly lacks?The new pound coin rolled into the public domain overnight. And it is hard to look at the pictures, ubiquitous this morning, without a disgracefully touchy-feely, yes, I fear, even protectively feminine response. Isn't it sweet? Doesn't it have something perfectly reflective of our quirky national identity that the present pound coin roundly lacks?
Resurrecting the shape of the old threepenny bit is a stroke of genius. Note the universally positive reaction. Note, too, how uniformly well-schooled the broadcasters were in pronouncing it "thrupenny" as of old. The PR pack must have come with a pronunciation guide.Resurrecting the shape of the old threepenny bit is a stroke of genius. Note the universally positive reaction. Note, too, how uniformly well-schooled the broadcasters were in pronouncing it "thrupenny" as of old. The PR pack must have come with a pronunciation guide.
Hold on a moment, though. Is it not budget day? Why on earth launch a showy new pound coin with so much fanfare, when the real news is supposed to be the UK's superb growth projections, absurdly generous new subsidies for childcare and a thoroughly welcome rise in the income tax threshold, courtesy of Nick Clegg?Hold on a moment, though. Is it not budget day? Why on earth launch a showy new pound coin with so much fanfare, when the real news is supposed to be the UK's superb growth projections, absurdly generous new subsidies for childcare and a thoroughly welcome rise in the income tax threshold, courtesy of Nick Clegg?
Seen in this light, the new threepenny-style pound coin looks suspiciously like a diversion. What giant new claim on our fast-depleting personal wealth is the chancellor going to spring on us that requires such an elaborate ploy? There's something disconcertingly April-foolish about it.Seen in this light, the new threepenny-style pound coin looks suspiciously like a diversion. What giant new claim on our fast-depleting personal wealth is the chancellor going to spring on us that requires such an elaborate ploy? There's something disconcertingly April-foolish about it.
The official reason for introducing a new pound coin now is the estimated 45 million or so counterfeit ones that are in circulation. The old pound coin, as we must soon call it, was too simple to reproduce; a dodecagon represents a whole new challenge. Some, though, detect a different intention. The old pound, they suggest, looked too much like a euro coin for today's Eurosceptic sensibility. Nice timing, of course, in the run-up to EU parliamentary elections: Nigel Farage marshals his Ukip troops beneath his banner of limiting EU migration, while the Conservatives open their campaign meetings by flipping their new nationalist coin.The official reason for introducing a new pound coin now is the estimated 45 million or so counterfeit ones that are in circulation. The old pound coin, as we must soon call it, was too simple to reproduce; a dodecagon represents a whole new challenge. Some, though, detect a different intention. The old pound, they suggest, looked too much like a euro coin for today's Eurosceptic sensibility. Nice timing, of course, in the run-up to EU parliamentary elections: Nigel Farage marshals his Ukip troops beneath his banner of limiting EU migration, while the Conservatives open their campaign meetings by flipping their new nationalist coin.
In another adroit piece of PR, there's to be a competition for the design of the non-Queen side. Public engagement is always a good idea. The one symbol likely to be ruled out, I imagine, is the thistle. Just in case.In another adroit piece of PR, there's to be a competition for the design of the non-Queen side. Public engagement is always a good idea. The one symbol likely to be ruled out, I imagine, is the thistle. Just in case.
Yet all enthusiasm for the new pound has tended to obscure some practical points. While the Royal Mint assures us that replacing one coin with another is not as expensive as we might think, this may be because much of the additional bill – £45m as someone estimated on Radio 4's Today programme – eerily reminiscent of the number of counterfeit pounds thought to be in circulation – will, it seems, be paid by business, and by us. Yet all enthusiasm for the new pound has tended to obscure some practical points. While the Royal Mint assures us that replacing one coin with another is not as expensive as we might think, this may be because much of the additional bill – £45m as someone estimated on Radio 4's Today programme (which eerily recalls the number of counterfeit pounds thought to be in circulation) – will, it seems, be paid by business, and by us.
A significant extra cost will be the replacement, or adaptation, of everything that requires pound coins at present. From luggage trolleys at airport and stations, to machines at the laundrette, to supermarket trolleys and slot machines providing everything from fizzy drinks to condoms. You also have to wonder how smoothly a 12-sided coin will be able to slip down its slot. One solution might be for the government to accelerate the withdrawal of the old coins as legal tender and have them sold back to us as tokens.A significant extra cost will be the replacement, or adaptation, of everything that requires pound coins at present. From luggage trolleys at airport and stations, to machines at the laundrette, to supermarket trolleys and slot machines providing everything from fizzy drinks to condoms. You also have to wonder how smoothly a 12-sided coin will be able to slip down its slot. One solution might be for the government to accelerate the withdrawal of the old coins as legal tender and have them sold back to us as tokens.
There is, though, a possible benefit from this change. Feeding pound coins into those super-fast gambling machines might seem more like spending real money than it does at present, and the new coins might periodically get stuck. Could it be that this has already been factored into the equation? As well as getting a patriotic rush from our new pound, we are to be saved from ourselves by other, stealthier, means.There is, though, a possible benefit from this change. Feeding pound coins into those super-fast gambling machines might seem more like spending real money than it does at present, and the new coins might periodically get stuck. Could it be that this has already been factored into the equation? As well as getting a patriotic rush from our new pound, we are to be saved from ourselves by other, stealthier, means.