I recently acquired this round pound in an assortment of foreign coins I received. However, I believe that this coin may indeed be one of the many counterfeit round pound coins that entered circulated prior to the introduction of the 12 sided £1 coin. The lettering and general level of detail appear to be lower than usual on both the obverse and reverse even for a circulated coin. Moreover, the decorative edge of the coin seems inconsistent in multiple areas, thus, leading me to suspect it may be a counterfeit. Any insight and opinions are appreciated below.
Certainly looks like one of the fakes to me - the edge is very poorly struck and that is the area the counterfeiters had the greatest problems with. The "break" in the pattern is actually correct - a small dot breaking the twisted pattern at one point. Some estimates suggest up to 1 in 30 £1 coins were fake by the time they were replaced, so certainly not scarce.
1/30 circulating coins being a counterfeit is an insanely high percentage. Is there any stats for other countries? I've seen online an example of a fake Sacagawea dollar from Central America but it was theorized to have been locally made and circulated due to the country using the US Dollar but not having its own minting capabilities and the lower risk of being caught.
