The £2 coin could come under attack by Chinese forgers, it has been warned.

The coins which are bi-metallic, containing gold and silver components, were thought to be more difficult to forge than simpler designs such asthe £1 coin.

But now a major seizure of €500,000 of euro coins has raised fears that Britain's £2 - with it's relatively higher value - could be in theforger's sights.

Italian detectives stumbled across the treasure trove of contraband currency while inspecting a consignment of metal pipes in the port ofNaples.

The quality of the coins suggested that the gang is producing imitations of such high quality that they would even be accepted in vendingmachines, potentially costing businesses thousands in lost revenue.

A spokesman for the Royal Mint stressed that forgeries of £2 coins are not yet though to be commonplace.

"A bi-colour coin is much harder to counterfeit because replicating the two metal components, the inner and outer, is significantly moredifficult than a single component coin. Forgers would also require a highly sophisticated press to produce bi-colour coins," said thespokesman.

"The coin detector mechanism of vending machines and self-service check-outs can detect the two different metal components, in addition tothe conductivity, thickness and diameter of the coin."

"The addition of edge lettering is also very hard to counterfeit, and some circulating £2 coin designs also include a latent feature in theirelements which is difficult to replicate."

To read the complete article, see:
Fears Chinese forgers couldperfect knock-off £2 coin (www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/crime/11312103/Fears-Chinese-forgers-could-perfect-knock-off-2-coin.html)