RIRA coin campaign.
Byline: GEMMA WRIGHTTHE Real IRA is stamping its initials on coins in the North.
Several pound coins have been found with "RIRA" engraved deeply on top of the Queen's face.
Defacing of the Queen's image is against Section 10 of the UK's 1971 Coinage Act and is also considered to be an act of treason, the only crime still punishable by death in Britain.
The move echoes that of loyalist paramilitaries who imprinted their insignia on Irish coins in the early 1970s.
A shocked member of the public who found a defaced coin in her purse at the weekend said: "I just didn't think to check my change and I only discovered it when I paid for something else later that day."
 Printer friendly
 Cite/link
 Email
 Feedback
| |
| Publication: | The Mirror (London, England) |
|---|---|
| Date: | Aug 18, 2003 |
| Words: | 123 |
| Previous Article: | 11 hurt in crashes. |
| Next Article: | 60 IN LUCKY ESCAPE AS JET TYRE BURSTS. |