A BOLTON man believes he may have stumbled on a counterfeit coin racket after being "short changed" with forged cash.

Ronald Hulse believes he may have uncovered a widescale fraud ring which could have been producing fake coins nationally since 1993.

But Bolton CID say they are not taking the find "too seriously" because the cost of producing fake pennies and other small coins is higher than the actual value of the counterfeit money.

The 48-year-old resident caretaker at Skagen Court housing scheme said he discovered the fake coins when he visited an electrical shop.

Mr Hulse explained: "I had dismantled a radio speaker and had a magnet from the speaker in my pocket. As I pulled it out to show the shop assistant I noticed a number of coins stuck to it.

"I didn't pay much attention at first. But when I got home I realised that money shouldn't stick to a magnet."

Mr Hulse was so intrigued that he paid a visit to his bank in Bolton town centre.

They confirmed that a two pence and a one pence, which looked identical to the real thing and weighed exactly the same, were false.

Mr Hulse has since handed in his fake money to Bolton CID who are investigating.

Mr Hulse said: "The bank were very concerned and they rang their head office to tell them about the coins.

"They told me that the money was fake one was dated 1996 and the other 1993.

Mr Hulse has since discovered that out of 30 coins - nearly two thirds are suspect because they stick to a magnet.

But Detective Inspector Graham Ball of Astley Bridge CID said: "I think this is a one off and no-one on this earth would counterfeit two pence and one pence coins.

"The cost of the metal and the smelting would not make it a viable proposition. This means there are very few fake £1 coins let alone anything smaller.

"I don't think this is a big scale problem - it is probably money used by a magician for a magic trick."

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