According to Automatic Vending Association CEO Jonathan Hilder, if the new British £1 coins were to fail for any reason, there could be considerable repercussions for the vending machine industry in retrofitting and related expenses.
Speaking to Wired.co.uk, Jonathan warned that any failure of the new coin could cost the vending machine industry ‘four or five times’ more than what it had cost them when the five and 10 pence coins had failed when they were converted to nickel-plated steel from the earlier cupro-nickel. In 2012, the nickel-plated five and 10 pence had proven to be a failure due to technical issues, which cost the vending machine industry approximately £80m, according to the British treasury.
But AVA nevertheless understands the requirements of The Royal Mint to maintain the integrity of the £1 coin. In a statement on its website, the association said: “It is not a surprise that due to the increased level of counterfeiting, that a new public consultation will be launched by the Chancellor for the introduction of a new £1 coin.
“The AVA welcomes the opportunity to be involved from the start of this process to look at the proposed introduction of the coin and what materials it is manufactured from and its specification.
“It is imperative that the vending industry works with all the other interested parties to ensure that the security and implementation can be undertaken at the lowest possible cost to industry due to its large legacy machine base. The AVA supports the development of a new coin which is more secure than its predecessor and can incorporate new technologies in the future and works through the existing machine base at minimal cost.”
Among its prominent features, the new coin will be constructed from different metals and will have the same gold and silver colours as the euro. Its 12-sided shape will make counterfeiting more difficult.
The new coin will also have Queen Elizabeth’s face on the head side of the coin, while for the reverse, the tail side, the design will be decided through a pubic competition.
Source: Wired/AVA
Updated Removed some ‘Wired’ references and replaced with statement from AVA.
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