A WINCHESTER woman is warning people be on the look-out for counterfeit £2 coins.
Denise Baker, a former mayoress to Chris Pines, was caught out with a dud this week.
Ms Baker, of Lower Stanmore Lane, said she met someone who had also got a rogue coin.
"It is annoying to think their these counterfeiters are getting away with it. The more that people know about it the better.
"The coins are getting into the system somewhere but not through machines," she said.
The fakes (below, left) look and feel different to genuine coins. They lack detail on the Queen's head and are missing the perforated edge of the inner disc.
The Royal Mint regularly conducts surveys to estimate the level of counterfeit £1 coins in the UK.
A survey undertaken in May 2014 found that the rate of counterfeit UK £1 coins in circulation at the time was around three per cent.
It was unclear what the ratio is for the £2 coins.
The larger coins were thought to be less prone to counterfeiting as it is harder to piece the inner and outer parts together.
National newspaper reports last year said Chinese-based criminals have mastered the ability to manufacture almost perfect bi-metallic coins.
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