Fake £1 Coin Scam Exposed

UP TO one million fake £1 coins could be in circulation in Wales, a shock investigation has revealed.

A probe by ITV Wales" consumer show The Ferret for a Wales This Week programme has shown how the dud coins - so realistic they are the same weight - are bypassing checks and getting into the system.

And the Royal Mail has admitted that it can do nothing about the fakes that could make up as much as 1.69 per cent of all pound coins.

The Ferret launched its investigation after being contacted by a worker at a Welsh language and culture centre in Swansea.

Clive Manison of Ty Tawe was counting up the takings from social nights when he noticed a fake coin by chance.

He said: "I had the coins spread out on the table and realised that one of them looked a bit odd."

"On closer examination, I realised the words were not as clearly cut as they would normally be on a pound coin."

He continued to keep a look out in the coming months and even noticed fakes in money he withdrew from the bank for the till, before calling in The Ferret.

Dr Jonathan James, of Swansea University's Materials Centre of Excellence, examined the coins using a high-powered electron microscope, as well as x-ray analysis to discover their chemical make-up.

The coins were almost identical to the real thing in size and weight and their content of copper, zinc and nickel.

He said: "They've gone to quite considerable lengths. You can just about notice a small difference.

"Some counterfeit coins you see are made out of lead and just coated with paint but these have the same alloy content as the real thing.

"They're such good replicas that when banks weigh out bags of coins they are not always detected because the weight is virtually correct."

A spokesman for The Royal Mint said: " The Royal Mint conducts regular surveys to establish the incidence of pound coin counterfeits. The most recent survey in November 2006 indicates a counterfeit rate of just under 1.69 per cent, which is well within the level generally tolerated by monetary authorities across the world.

"At the current level of counterfeit coins in circulation, there is not a value for money case for replacing the existing pound coin which is the only positive action The Royal Mint and the Treasury could take.

"It is the responsibility of law enforcement agencies to investigate and prosecute counterfeiters, but The Royal Mint provides technical assistance when requested."

A spokesman for South Wales Police said they were not investigating the coin counterfeits.

He said: "We've not done any operations into counterfeit coins, I can confirm that.

"If you find a counterfeit coin it's almost impossible, really, to tell where it's come from."

Wales This Week is on ITV1 Wales tomorrow at 8pm.