Figures from the Royal Mint last year showed that that an estimated 2.74pc of all pound coins are counterfeit. The Mint provides a guide on its website (www.royalmint.com) to how to spot these coins, including tips such as the date and design on the reverse of the coin not matching, and the coin still being golden and shiny even though the date indicates that it is an older coin. The Swazi coin, the lilangeni, worth around 7p, is also sometimes fraudulently used in UK vending machines as it is the same size and weight.