Five years in jail are waiting for the counterfeiter who was able to make 14 million 1 pound coins. It was one of the biggest coin-making operations, according to the police.

The name of the 37-year old counterfeiter is Marcus Glindon. The former engineer started running his illegal business in a workshop after losing his job. Although the forgery brought him about 300,000 pounds, his lifestyle did no show any signs of wealth, the police said.

Inside his workshop in Enfield, North London, police found enough machinery to produce fake coins on a large scale. Police also discovered copies of the dyes Glindon used to imprint 1 pound coins. After being arrested the counterfeiter admitted that he had been minting fake coins for seven years.

Marcus Glindon, who is also the father of two kids, mentioned that he produced coins alone and that he received orders from two men who called themselves "Tom" and "John". The two men would bring materials to his workshop. Glindon used those materials to make completed coins as well as blank coins.

In seven years he was able to make 14 million coins. Among them there were 2.5 millions stamped coins ready for being used for buying things. The coins have not been recuperated.

According to Glindon's calculations, at one stage he was producing daily 12,000 pound coins. Then the finished coins we passed to his accomplices. The two paid him weekly 2000 pounds.

Royal Mint officials stated that identifying the fake coins would be very difficult for the general public. Some automated machines would most probably accept these coins.

"This was a sophisticated operation run over a seven-year period which flooded the economy with counterfeit pound coins. We have disrupted a nationwide criminal network and put a substantial dent into the illegal production of £1 coins," outlined Dan Roberts, from the Metropolitan Police’s Major Crimes Unit.

"He had felt under pressure from the two men. There were no specific threats - he felt he owed them to carry on," said Mr. Roberts. "He is quite a simple man, who was married and has two children. He was quite happy just to have a job. He was getting paid a wage and doing what he likes doing," he added.

Glindon was sent to jail at Wood Green Crown Court after being accused and pleaded guilty to conspiracy involving the production of counterfeit coins as well as other related offences.

"We've stopped their main source of blank coins, but we think there is another plant somewhere. The operation could be nationwide," said Mr. Roberts.