So it seems pretty clear that the UK will not join the Euro in the coming years now.
The Royal Mint has announced the design of a new coin based on the old threepenny bit, a 12-sided coin in circulation between 1937 and 1971. A competition will be held to decide on the image to be used on the new coin.
The main reason for the redesign is security. With one in thirty coins being counterfeit, something had to be done to make it harder to create fake coins. For the more technical people, you can check out the discussion on the technology part of the coins’ security measures.