The British government has announced on January 1st that it would launch a new one-pound coin at the end of March and scrap the current one pound coin by October. <br/><br/>An announcement from the British Treasury said that the new 12-sided one pound coin would become legal tender on March 28th and the new coin would be produced by the Royal Mint in Wales. <br/><br/>A total of 1.5 billion of the coins will be issued in the first minting. The new coin has been introduced to deter sophisticated counterfeiters who can now replicate the current coin, which has been in circulation for 30 years.<br/>