Britain issues new 1-pound coin to combat counterfeiting

The British Royal Mint on Tuesday rolled out its new one-pound coin which is designed to combat counterfeiting.

The Royal Mint estimates that about 2.5 percent of the 1.6 billion pound coins in circulation are counterfeit.

The old one pound coin is circular and was introduced in 1983. It will go out of circulation in October, when 1.5 billion new one pound coins will have been introduced.

The new bimetallic 12-sided one pound coin was announced in 2014, and the design on the coin includes traditional floral emblems of the four parts of Britain.

The coin contains an image which is like a hologram that changes from a sterling symbol to the number one when the coin is seen from different angles. It also contains a secret security feature, which Mint officials say make it impossible to counterfeit.

"Some of the visible security features, such as the micro-lettering and a latent feature, can only be achieved through computer-aided design technology which wasn't available when the pound coin was introduced in 1983," said Royal Mint chief engraver Gordon Summers.

Despite the technological advances embedded in the coin, one thing remains the same -- it will still carry an engraving of Queen Elizabeth II on the coin's front side.