There’s at least seven different UK coins, and it’s very easy to get tricked on the change (luckily the scots seem to be honest, if overly economical at times). I’ll just warn you about the 50 pence: It’s a large octahedral coin, but if someone tries to give you one that’s really abnormally large, over an inch across, don’t accept it because it’s old and invalid and you can’t use it.
Don’t let the engraving ‘new pence’ fool you. Bah!
Not to even get started on the notes. The only way you can know which note you have is really to read the number, as the Scottish notes are different from the English, which are different from the Welsh and north Irish -and they all circulate featuring all kinds of colors and faces. Eldorado for false money?
That’s not really much better over here, to be honest. If I had a dollar for every time I’ve seen a new norwegian 20 NOK coin… I’m convinced half of them are fake. There’s no point in even trying anymore. As long as it says “20” on it and the weight is about right, it’s valid.