article_snippet: British technology is said to be no longer suitable for a coin of British value, leaving British vulnerable to ever more sophisticated counterfeiters.
article_snippet: Royal Mint estimates that about three per cent of all £1 coins - or a staggering 45 million - are now forgeries.
article_snippet: Over the past few years, around two million counterfeit £1 coins have been removed from circulation each year.
article_snippet: Ministers admit there will be costs for some businesses, but say the increasing number of forged £1 coins in circulation mean action has become urgently needed.
article_snippet: Many business leaders agree that such significant sums are now being lost through counterfeits that a new coin that is harder to forge is needed.