A joke about the new pound coin has been named the funniest of the Edinburgh Festival Fringe.

Ken Cheng won the 10th annual Dave’s Funniest Joke of the Fringe with: “I’m not a fan of the new pound coin, but then again, I hate all change.”

The joke, from his show “Ken Cheng: Chinese Comedian,” won 33 percent of a public vote on a shortlist of gags picked by comedy critics.

Previous winners include Tim Vine, Stewart Francis and Zoe Lyons.

Cheng told BBC Radio 4’s “Today” program he was surprised the joke won the award because it had been a “groaner.”

“Audiences tends to groan at it a lot,” he said.

“I’m generally going after laughs, but I’ll take the groan.”

Cheng said he came up with the joke when the government announced plans for the new 12-sided £1 coin in 2014.

Asked to pick what joke he thought was the funniest besides his own, he said Frankie Boyle’s.

Cheng studied maths at Cambridge for a year before dropping out to play online poker professionally.

His big break in showbiz came when he reached the final of the 2015 BBC Radio New Comedy Award.

On winning the Dave prize, Cheng said: “I am very proud to have won. As a tribute, I will name my firstborn son after this award and call him ‘Joke of the Fringe’.”

The award, which was voted on by 2,000 people, lists jokes anonymously* to avoid any bias* towards well-known comedians.

Steve North, general manager of Dave, said: “From Trump and veganism to the new pound coin, this year’s news agenda has certainly also provided some great inspiration for comedians to get grips* with.

“It’s fantastic to see that, even after 10 years of the Joke of the Fringe award, there is no shortage of brilliant one-liners delivered at the festival to get us all laughing.”

Masai Graham won last year’s award with the gag: “My dad suggested I register for a donor card. He’s a man after my own heart.”

(SD-Agencies)