Written question asked by Andrew Rosindell (Conservative) on Wednesday, 28 October 2009, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Monday, 2 November 2009. It was answered by Sarah McCarthy-Fry (Labour) on Tuesday, 3 November 2009 on behalf of the Treasury.

Coinage: Counterfeit Manufacturing

Question: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what steps he is taking to reduce the number of counterfeit coins in circulation.

Answer: The Royal Mint is working with banks, the Post Office, cash handling and sorting businesses, the police and the vending industry to remove counterfeit £1 coins from circulation before they reach the pockets of members of the public. Coin handling businesses, such as banks and the Post Office, handle over three billion £1 coins every year. They use high-speed, automated systems to process customer deposits and prepare coin for reissue. These automated systems are capable of detecting and withdrawing a significant number of counterfeit coins. All counterfeit coins detected from coin processing are sent to the Royal Mint for disposal.The Royal Mint holds awareness seminars to educate the public and the coin handling industry on how to identify counterfeits, and has issued educational leaflets and posters.The Royal Mint is also working with other validator and coin sorting manufactures to help improve the counterfeit detection rate.

Secondary information