THE new 12-sided one pound coins are starting to be seen in quantity in South Cumbria this Easter so we are taking a look at why the change was necessary.

Chris Barker, from the Royal Mint Museum, gave an outline of the thinking behind the coin in a talk to the spring conference of the British Association of Numismatic Societies held at Harrogate.

The gold sovereign vanished from use in shops during the First World War and was replaced by one pound notes.

Inflation gradually reduced the value of the notes and they were circulated so quickly that the average life was just nine months.

He said: "It was hugely uneconomic for the government to produce.

"The note needed to be replaced with a high value, longer-lasting coins."

Coins were increasingly faked and the quality of them steadily rose until it was difficult for members of the public to tell the real thing.

He said: "Counterfeiting has always been a problem as long as coins have been around."

Surveys were carried out from 2002 to 2016 and the numbers of fakes in circulation rose above three per cent.

He said: "By 2013 this as an issue which could no longer be avoided.

"The production of counterfeits had became a lucrative business."

Organised crime rings were set up overseas and smuggled fake coins into Britain.

One Dutch firm was raised by police and was estimated to be producing up to four million fake pound coins a year.

Chancellor Geoffrey Howe took examples of the planned 1980s pound coin to the Prime Minister.

Mr Barker said: "Mrs Thatcher was less than impressed with the new coin, describing it as chocolate money."

The coin issue went out to consultation and a design featuring the royal arms by Eric Sewell was chosen and put into production in April 1982.

By June 1983 the stock of new coins reached 250m and it was time to put them into circulation.

The new 12-sided design is 22.5mm in diameter, 3.1mm thick, weighs 9.5g and features a secret security measures within the plating of the coin.

Around 3,000 groups were consulted and 6,500 designs were suggested in a public contest.

Designs included a bull dog, a view of Stonehenge and a pot of tea.

The winner was David Pearce, aged 15, of Walsall.

Production started in March 2016 and a stock of 700m coins was built up with the use of 13 coin presses turning out eight coins per second.

A Royal Mint production record was set of 4m coins in a single day despite the new coin being more difficult to produce.

By the end of the year a total of 1.6 billion new pound coins will have been minted.

He said: "No where else in the world has this level of minting sophistication."