Advice on how to spot the fake £1 coins in circulation

Shoppers and shopkeepers have been urged to check their change to make sure they have not been given any of the forgeries.

But conflicting advice has led to uncertainty - a rumour that a pound coin without dots around the exterior ring is automatically a counterfeit is not true.

Royal Mint spokesman Kevin Clancy said that genuine coins issued from the second half of 2008 and 2009 do not include the dots.

Mr Clancy said the best way to tell if a coin is “dud” is by its colour, weight and lettering. He said the colour tends to be darker in the fakes and the lettering looks more crude.

Recently a fake 1 coin was passed to the Coleraine Times.

The coin is lighter in weight than a genuine one and is altered in colour.

A Royal Mint spokesman said that it takes counterfeiting extremely seriously and undertakes regular surveys to establish the incidence of 1 counterfeit coins.

A survey in 2009 indicated a counterfeit rate of around 2.5% across the UK.

Andrew Mills, Director of Circulating Coin Sales at The Royal Mint, said: “We need the public in Northern Ireland to be vigilant in helping combat this problem as information is the key route to solving counterfeiting.

“If people are concerned they have a counterfeit coin, they should check the guidance on our web site.

“If they are still worried or discover they have a counterfeit coin, it should be taken to a bank, Post Office or reported to local police.”

How to spot a fake coin...

The Royal Mint has issued this advice on the key telling signs of fake coins:

The date and design on the reverse do not match (the reverse design is changed each year).

The lettering or inscription on the edge of the coin does not correspond to the right year.

The milled edge is poorly defined and the lettering is uneven in depth, spacing or is poorly formed.

The obverse and reverse designs are not as sharp or well defined.

Where the coin should have been in circulation for some time, the colouring appears more shiny and golden and the coin shows no sign of age.

The colour of the coin does not match genuine coins.

The orientation of the obverse and reverse designs is not in line.