Why do we always manage to make such a mess of things?
There are to be new 5p and 10p coins next year.
OK you say, that’s no big deal, we were expecting it. The Tories didn’t like Gordon Brown’s modern design which removed Britannia, a symbol of British Imperial power, which has appeared on the coinage since around 1707. Mr Cameron, pre-election, made an impassioned plea for Britannia to be returned to its rightful place.
But that’s not it.
Oh no. The Queen personally supported the change in the coins' designs, so Mr Cameron is unlikely to change anything there.
The designs of the coins will remain the same, but they will be made of new material, and they will be thicker... and magnetic (handy when they fall down the back to the settee!).
At present the coins are made from cupronickel as they have been since 1946, but from January 1, they will be made of steel, with a nickel coating. They will look identical and weight the same as the old coinage, but they will be very slightly thicker.
The reason for the change is so that the mint can save on the costs of materials. The move should save them around £8 million a year, and as they are a government owned business, this will be very welcome.
The trouble with the change is that they will not work in coin-operated vending machinery, slot machines, or parking meters. This machinery operates on a very complex recognition system, recognising
not only size and weight, but also electromagnetic composition to avoid cheating.
All this equipment will have to have its software updated, and in most instances, need to be recalibrated to recognise both the new coins and the old ones, which of course, will not disappear overnight.
The Royal Mint has provided the vending machine industry with a few samples of the new coins, but they have not, only 4 months away from the deadline, provided final production versions. This has made it impossible for the industry to start on the necessary changes. Clearly they will not have the manpower to have everything changed by January 1 when the new coins become legal tender across the length and breadth of the UK.
The Treasury and the Royal mint have been told of the impending problems but haven’t paid any attention.
Additionally, the cost to the industry will be in the region of £100 million (remember this is to save the Royal Mint £8 million).
And who do you think will be picking up the tab?
There are to be new 5p and 10p coins next year.
OK you say, that’s no big deal, we were expecting it. The Tories didn’t like Gordon Brown’s modern design which removed Britannia, a symbol of British Imperial power, which has appeared on the coinage since around 1707. Mr Cameron, pre-election, made an impassioned plea for Britannia to be returned to its rightful place.
But that’s not it.
Oh no. The Queen personally supported the change in the coins' designs, so Mr Cameron is unlikely to change anything there.
The designs of the coins will remain the same, but they will be made of new material, and they will be thicker... and magnetic (handy when they fall down the back to the settee!).
At present the coins are made from cupronickel as they have been since 1946, but from January 1, they will be made of steel, with a nickel coating. They will look identical and weight the same as the old coinage, but they will be very slightly thicker.
The reason for the change is so that the mint can save on the costs of materials. The move should save them around £8 million a year, and as they are a government owned business, this will be very welcome.
The trouble with the change is that they will not work in coin-operated vending machinery, slot machines, or parking meters. This machinery operates on a very complex recognition system, recognising
not only size and weight, but also electromagnetic composition to avoid cheating.All this equipment will have to have its software updated, and in most instances, need to be recalibrated to recognise both the new coins and the old ones, which of course, will not disappear overnight.
The Royal Mint has provided the vending machine industry with a few samples of the new coins, but they have not, only 4 months away from the deadline, provided final production versions. This has made it impossible for the industry to start on the necessary changes. Clearly they will not have the manpower to have everything changed by January 1 when the new coins become legal tender across the length and breadth of the UK.
The Treasury and the Royal mint have been told of the impending problems but haven’t paid any attention.
Additionally, the cost to the industry will be in the region of £100 million (remember this is to save the Royal Mint £8 million).
And who do you think will be picking up the tab?
