Fake £1 coins

[xiphrex]

Unbelievable how some people out there would take all that time and effort to counterfeit a value of money this small. Need 3 of these coins, probably more, just to get a sandwich at my uni.

Whatever next, counterfeit 2p coins?

[mediaboy]

don't coins below a certain value cost more to make than they're actually worth in terms of monetary value?

I think it's something like 1p, 2p and 5p coins that cost more to make than they are worth.. someone verify/correct me?


I know that the above is especially true during periods of inflation, or even more true during hyperinflation (Germany post WWI and Zimbawe more recently)

[samcross]

Its pretty amazing that they've got into circulation, especially with such obvious differences.

[JimmyBoy]

as long as the vending machine or cashier accepts it, i couldnt care less

[TAKTAK]

don't coins below a certain value cost more to make than they're actually worth in terms of monetary value?

I think it's something like 1p, 2p and 5p coins that cost more to make than they are worth.. someone verify/correct me?


I know that the above is especially true during periods of inflation, or even more true during hyperinflation (Germany post WWI and Zimbawe more recently)

only older ones...

newer ones are (IIRC) copper coated steel...

edit:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/4766897.stm
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/ukne...h-3p-each.html

[TAKTAK]

as long as the vending machine or cashier accepts it, i couldnt care less

vending machines don't

[Agent]

What do venting machines work off? weight?

[Funkstar]

One fake in the 40 I've just checked.

Beating the odds so far

I'll see what happens when i take them to the bank tomorrow.

[TAKTAK]

What do venting machines work off? weight?

i think it uses electromagnetism... but dont quote me on that one...

or mebbe magnetism and weight?



edit:

The validator accepts cash. It has a rubber treadmill that drags bills under optical scanners. Each optical scanner is a little camera that sends pictures to a computer. That computer is programmed to look for certain marks in these pictures. If it sees these marks, the validator knows if a bill is genuine money, and it knows how much it's worth.


Not everyone pays with bills. The coin mech takes care of that. Its job is to distinguish between different types of coins.

When you insert a coin, it rolls past a series of electromagnets (coils of wire with electricity running through them). These electromagnets create an electromagnetic energy field. Any metal object - like a coin - will disturb this field. Quarters, pennies, dimes, nickels and fake coins affect the field differently, because they are made up of different metals and vary in thickness. Depending on how the field changes, the coin mech knows what kind of coin you inserted. It sorts the good coins into different stacks and tells the computer how much money you've put in.

http://express.howstuffworks.com/autopsy-vending.htm

[mycarsavw]

sigh
i work at mcdonalds, and we're only suposed to check £20 notes to see if they're fake...

but i've noticed a few of those coins before..

So you ignore the fake £5, £10 and £50 notes?

Brilliant, another stroke of McDs genius.

[jackvdbuk]

So you ignore the fake £5, £10 and £50 notes?

Brilliant, another stroke of McDs genius.

£50's require a manager to verify them at our work LOL.

tbh 5 and 10's you can still check by just holding it (checking paper, indents e.t.c) and thats satisfactory for me tbh

[Clansman]

Emirzan. I saw that news article too. When you think of counterfeit money you think of banknotes. If folks don't know what to look for coins are easy to slip through.

[Whiternoise]

I was always told that the most profitable currency scam was when copper coins were worth less than the materials they were made from.

Making lots of fake money isn't really a good way of making money though, since you're basically devaluing the coins. Although i guess the mint just melts them down to cope with the amount in circulation.

I've certainly seen coins that have the "upside down revers" defect. Just thought it varied from year to year lol

[Peter Parker]

Had a check with colleagues at lunchtime. Found 1 out of about 24 which has no grooves/indentations on the edge, and dodgy lettering. Owner was chuffed and decided to keep it as an example