Tails You Win: Teen Designs New £1 Coin Image

A 15-year-old's design for the new £1 coin has been chosen ahead of more than 6,000 entries.

David Pearce's drawing will feature on the new currency that will be released in 2017.

He was told the news by George Osborne.

"Designing the new £1 coin was a brilliant opportunity to leave a lasting legacy on what will be the most secure coin in circulation anywhere," the Chancellor said.

"The competition captured the imagination of thousands of people and David Pearce's winning design will be recognised by millions in the years ahead."

David's design, which features national emblems of the UK - a rose, leek, thistle and shamrock - emerging from a Royal Coronet, has been slightly refined with the support of renowned coin artist David Lawrence and lettering expert Stephen Raw.

The teenager, from Walsall, said: "I spent a lot of time researching what coin designs looked like and what sort of designs would represent all parts of the UK before submitting my idea and I honestly cannot believe I have won."

The £1 coin is being replaced for the first time in more than 30 years because of its vulnerability to counterfeiters.

It will have the same shape as the old 12-sided three pence piece and is set to be the most secure coin in circulation in the world due to its bi-metallic construction and the Royal Mint's new state-of-the-art anti-counterfeiting technology.