Lord Hawkeasked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether, in calculating that three million pounds will be saved by replacing one pound notes with one pound coins, they have made allowance for the possibility that the coin will prove easier to forge than the note, with consequent loss to the Exchequer.
The Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Arts (The Earl of Gowrie)The combination of the milled rim and edge inscription on the £1 coin has been specially designed to make forgery more difficult. However, there is no direct loss to the Exchequer from forgery, whether of notes or coins.