Thousands of £1 coins with 'hole' bunch of problems

The new £1 coins have only been in circulation for a few months but people have already been finding a number of flaws with the new tender.

Coins have been appearing with holes and blemishes despite being lauded as the most secure in the world.

Consumers have expressed confusion at being handed the recently released 12-sided pound with apparent minting problems.

Rolled out last month, the coin was boasted to have a range of high-tech features, including a hologram, which made it hard to counterfeit.

All the denominations have been struck at the Royal Mint based in Llantrisant.

The new coin was introduced in March this year. Credit: eBay

Warped pounds are now being auctioned online with starting prices as high as £5,000.

Early teething problems have hampered the launch of the new design, including incompatibility with coin-operated machines and shopping trolleys.

The old coin and the new coin will co-exist together for a period of around six months, until the round pound ceases to be legal tender on October 15.