UKC

Am I right in thinking that coin operated machines won't be able to cope with a 12-sided £1 coin because it's not a curve of constant width?

If so, is this a massive screw up?

In reply to ablackett:

"he new quid will hit the streets in 2017, assuming vending machine manufacturers don't put the kibosh on it with an insupportable level of moaning about how it will cost £13bn to retrofit the UK's existing coin-gobblers to accommodate the new nugget."

From http://www.theregister.co.uk/2014/03/19/new_pound_coin_12_sides_threepenny/

Sounds pricey.

In reply to JoshOvki:

I'm saying it's not possible because it will jam up in the machines, I might be wrong though.

In reply to ablackett:

They work fine with 20p and 50p coins.

Just hope they remember to put the date on it...

In reply to LastBoyScout:


They have constat diameter (the "straight" faces are in fact curved). You can get rather cool 3-d versions of such things

http://aperiodical.com/2013/08/solids-of-constant-width-now-available-from-...

In reply to LastBoyScout:

20p and 50p coins have constant width, I don't think you can do the same trick with 12 sides.

In reply to ablackett:

Isn't the Australian 50c coin 12 sided? So I imagine there is a method to do it.

In reply to JoshOvki:

The new quid will hit the streets in 2017, assuming vending machine manufacturers don't put the kibosh on it with an insupportable level of moaning about how it will cost £13bn to retrofit the UK's existing coin-gobblers to accommodate the new nugget.

Is that £13bn figure factual, or just a bit of flippant journalistic licence?

In reply to FactorXXX:

Fair point. I have seen £400m brandished elsewhere.

In reply to JoshOvki:

The Australian 50c coin may well be 12 sided but is fookin massive and out of proportion to its value! Think it's the same size as our old 50p.