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The current proposed design is a 12-sided coin similar in shape to the pre-decimalisation threepence piece, more commonly known as the "threepenny bit".

With a hammer and two threepenny nails in hand, Stella Armijo emerged from her low adobe farmhouse one morning while Herbie reclined on his front stoop trying to read a book.

A Treasury spokesman said the time was right to "retire" the existing £1 coin and using the threepenny bit as inspiration for its replacement was a "fitting tribute" to such an iconic design.

The 1-pound coin is to be replaced by a new model based on the old threepenny bit, Finance Minister George Osborne will announce in Wednesday's Budget.

The paper's lead story says the £1 coin is to be scrapped in favour of a new design "shaped like an old threepenny bit".