Trial versions of new £1 coin already selling for £200 on eBay but you CAN’T spend them in the shops
The fakes were given to shops to make sure they are ready for the 12-sided coin when its enters circulation in March
COIN mad Brits are snapping up fake versions of the new 12-sided £1 coin on eBay.
Hundreds of the coins which were made by The Royal Mint and given to retailers to test are being flogged on the auction website - with some fetching as much as £200.
But these coins are not legal tender and can’t be used in shops - even when the new £1 coin goes into circulation at the end of March.
The coins aren't even considered rare, according to The Royal Mint.
Around 200,000 “trial piece” coins have been made so far. They are supposed to be used by vending machines, supermarket chains and banks so that they will be ready for the new coin’s introduction in March.
The new coin, dubbed the “most secure” in the world, features a hologram at the bottom which shows a £ symbol and the number one depending on the light.
While those coins given to shops are labelled “trial piece” on the obverse.
Scott Kuperus, from The Royal Mint, said: “To date The Royal Mint has issued over 200,000 trial samples of the new 12-sided £1 coin to industry stakeholders, for the purposes of calibrating or upgrading coin handling equipment ahead of the coin’s introduction in March 2017.
“The trial pieces are marked with the word ‘trial’, do not have legal tender status, and have no redeemable value.”
“The fact that people are already trying to sell them on eBay shows just how coin-mad the general public have become in the last few years.
“After all, if these new trial coins turn out to be as valuable as 1994’s, then anyone who gets their hands on them now could be sitting on a future goldmine.”
Coin fanatics who can't wait until March can get their hands on a new 12-sided coin by visiting The Royal Mint visitor experience in Wales.
The entrance fee is £13 for adults and £10.50 for children and for an extra £5 (or £7.50 for two) you can strike your very own 12-sided £1 coin.
The Royal Mint says these coins are only for commemorative use and cannot be spent.
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