Do you like the new £1 coin?

A new 12-sided £1 coin enters circulation today, as it starts to edge out the old “round pound” after more than 30 years.

The Government has previously described the new coin as “harder to counterfeit than ever before”.

People have been urged to return their old round pounds before they eventually lose their legal tender status. They can bank them or spend them.

Around £1.3 billion worth of coins are stored in savings jars across the country, and the current £1 coin is thought to account for nearly a third of these.

The new coin has been described as the most secure coin in the world and boasts high-tech features, including a hologram.

About one in every 30 £1 coins given in change in recent years has been fake.

The features include its 12-sided shape, its bi-metallic structure with a gold-coloured outer ring and a silver-coloured inner ring.

It also includes an image that changes from a “£” symbol to the number “1” when seen from different angles.

Additionally the coin has micro-lettering and milled edges.

There is a period of just over six months when the old round pound will still be accepted as legal tender alongside the new coin.

People are being encouraged to return their coins before October 15 with the option to bank them or spend them.

What are your views?  Do you like the look of the new £1 coin? Do you have any old £1 coins stored in a savings jar? What are you saving them for? Have you got used to the new plastic £5 note yet?