(Bloomberg) — The U.K.’s new one-pound coin will feature a design by a teenager incorporating symbols of England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne will announce Wednesday.
David Pearce, a 15-year-old pupil at Queen Mary’s Grammar School in Walsall, central England, won a competition to design the coin, which will also be the most-forgery-resistant ever put into circulation, according to a statement from the Treasury. Osborne will announce the design when he delivers his annual budget in Parliament.
“Designing the new 1-pound coin was a brilliant opportunity to leave a lasting legacy on what will be the most secure coin in circulation anywhere,” Osborne said in the statement. “The competition captured the imagination of thousands of people, and David Pearce’s winning design will be recognized by millions in the years ahead.”
The Royal Mint estimates that about 3 percent, or 45 million, of all current one-pound coins are forgeries. The new coin will be made of metals of two difference colors, and will have 12 sides, like the old three-penny coin that was discontinued in the early 1970s. It also includes unspecified anti-counterfeiting technology, which the Treasury said can be authenticated by high-speed automated detection.
Pearce’s design includes a rose, a leek, a thistle and a shamrock emerging from a crown.
