the business ladder

Plans to launch new five and ten pence coins have been revealed by the government, but could cost companies millions of pounds as a result. 

The five and ten pence coins will be produced first in an initiative by the Royal Mint to make the manufacturing of coins cheaper. The new technique will later be applied to all coins.

However, as a result of the new process, coins will be 0.2mm thicker than those used at the moment, which could prove a problem for vending machines, parking meters and coin counting machines employed by companies nationally.

There are some issues surrounding how the new coins will be introduced, with the main idea being that both the old and new coins will be used for a certain amount of time, which may help the different machines to handle the differences.

The new coins will commence their manufacturing in January, and are predicted to enter circulation by April. The new techniques are estimated to save the Royal Mint a total of £10 million per annum.

Additionally, it is thought that the new coins will be in circulation for as many as thirty years, longer than the coins used currently.

<--- return to news section

For additional information and to request a quote, please register with us by clicking here.