One pound coin


The British one pound coin is a denomination of sterling coinage. Its obverse has featured the profile of Charles III since 2024 and bears the Latin engraving CHARLES III D G REX F D, which means 'Charles III, by the grace of God, King, Defender of the Faith'.
The original, round £1 coin was introduced in 1983. It replaced the Bank of England £1 note, which ceased to be issued at the end of 1984 and was removed from circulation on 11 March 1988, though still redeemable at the bank's offices, like all English banknotes. One-pound notes continue to be issued in Jersey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man, and by the Royal Bank of Scotland, but the pound coin is much more widely used. A new, dodecagonal design of coin was introduced on 28 March 2017 and both new and old versions of the one pound coin circulated together until the older design was withdrawn from circulation on 15 October 2017. After that date, the older coin could only be redeemed at banks, although some retailers announced they would continue to accept it for a limited time, and it remained in use in the Isle of Man.
The main purpose of redesigning the coin was to combat counterfeiting. As of March 2014 there were an estimated 1,553 million of the original nickel-brass coins in circulation, of which the Royal Mint estimated in 2014 that just over 3% were [|counterfeit]. The new coin, in contrast, is bimetallic like the current £2 coin, and features an undisclosed hidden security feature called "iSIS".
The current 12-sided pound coins are legal tender to any amount when offered in repayment of a debt; however, the coin's legal tender status is not normally relevant for everyday transactions.
The sovereign coin also has a nominal value of one pound, and remains legal tender for this amount, although the value of the gold it contains is now substantially greater than its nominal value, and so it is no longer in day-to-day circulation as currency.

Design

To date, four different portraits of Elizabeth II have appeared on the obverse. For the first three of these, the inscription was, where 2013 is replaced by the year of minting. The fourth design, unveiled in March 2015, expanded the inscription slightly to. The 12-sided design, introduced in March 2017, reverted to
In summary:
In August 2005 the Royal Mint launched a competition to find new reverse designs for all circulating coins apart from the £2 coin. The winner, announced in April 2008, was Matthew Dent, whose designs were gradually introduced into the circulating British coinage from mid-2008. The designs for the 1p, 2p, 5p, 10p, 20p and 50p coins depict sections of the Royal Shield that form the whole shield when placed together. The shield in its entirety was featured on the £1 coin. The coin's obverse remained unchanged.
The design of the reverse of the original coin was changed each year from 1983 to 2008 to show, in turn, an emblem representing the UK, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland, and England, together with an appropriate edge inscription. This edge inscription could just as often be "upside-down". From 2008, national-based designs were still minted, but alongside the new standard version and no longer in strict rotation. The inscription ONE POUND appeared on all reverse designs.
In common with non-commemorative £2 coins, the round £1 coin had a mint mark: a small crosslet found on the milled edge that represents Llantrisant in South Wales, where the Royal Mint has been based since 1968.
The reverse of the new 12-sided, bimetallic pound coin, introduced on 28 March 2017, was chosen by a public design competition. The competition to design the reverse of this coin was opened in September 2014. It was won in March 2015 by 15-year-old David Pearce from Walsall, and unveiled by Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne during his Budget announcement. The design features a rose, leek, thistle and shamrock bound by a crown.
In October 2023 the King Charles III one-pound coin was presented; the coin features bees.

Mintage figures

Round coin

Mintage figures below represent the number of coins of each date released for circulation. Mint sets have been produced since 1982; where mintages on or after that date indicate 'none', there are examples contained within those sets.
YearNameDesignNation representedEdge inscriptionTranslationMintage
1983Royal ArmsOrnamental royal armsUnited KingdomDECUS ET TUTAMENAn ornament and a safeguard443,053,510
1984ThistleThistle and royal diademScotlandNEMO ME IMPUNE LACESSITNo one attacks me with impunity146,256,501
1985LeekLeek and royal diademWalesPLEIDIOL WYF I'M GWLADTrue am I to my country228,430,749
1986Flax PlantFlax plant and royal diademNorthern IrelandDECUS ET TUTAMENAn ornament and a safeguard10,409,501
1987Oak TreeOak tree and royal diademEnglandDECUS ET TUTAMENAn ornament and a safeguard39,298,502
1988Shield of the Royal ArmsCrown over the royal armsUnited KingdomDECUS ET TUTAMENAn ornament and a safeguard7,118,825
1989ThistleThistle and royal diademScotlandNEMO ME IMPUNE LACESSITNo one attacks me with impunity70,580,501
1990LeekLeek and royal diademWalesPLEIDIOL WYF I'M GWLADTrue am I to my country97,269,302
1991Flax PlantFlax plant and royal diademNorthern IrelandDECUS ET TUTAMENAn ornament and a safeguard38,443,575
1992Oak TreeOak tree and royal diademEnglandDECUS ET TUTAMENAn ornament and a safeguard36,320,487
1993Royal ArmsOrnamental royal armsUnited KingdomDECUS ET TUTAMENAn ornament and a safeguard114,744,500
1994Lion RampantLion rampant within a double tressure flory counter-floryScotlandNEMO ME IMPUNE LACESSITNo one attacks me with impunity29,752,525
1995DragonDragon passantWalesPLEIDIOL WYF I'M GWLADTrue am I to my country34,503,501
1996Celtic Cross and TorcCeltic cross, Broighter collar and pimpernelNorthern IrelandDECUS ET TUTAMENAn ornament and a safeguard89,886,000
1997Three LionsThree lions passant guardantEnglandDECUS ET TUTAMENAn ornament and a safeguard57,117,450
1998Royal ArmsOrnamental royal armsUnited KingdomDECUS ET TUTAMENAn ornament and a safeguardnot circulated
1999Lion RampantLion rampant within a double tressure flory counter-floryScotlandNEMO ME IMPUNE LACESSITNo one attacks me with impunitynot circulated
2000DragonDragon passantWalesPLEIDIOL WYF I'M GWLADTrue am I to my country109,496,500
2001Celtic Cross and TorcCeltic cross, Broighter collar and pimpernelNorthern IrelandDECUS ET TUTAMENAn ornament and a safeguard63,968,065
2002Three LionsThree lions passant guardantEnglandDECUS ET TUTAMENAn ornament and a safeguard77,818,000
2003Royal ArmsOrnamental royal armsUnited KingdomDECUS ET TUTAMENAn ornament and a safeguard61,596,500
2004Forth Railway BridgeForth Railway Bridge surrounded by railway tracksScotlandAn incuse decorative feature symbolising bridges and pathwaysrowspan="4" 39,162,000
2005Menai Straits BridgeMenai Suspension Bridge surrounded by railing and stanchionsWalesAn incuse decorative feature symbolising bridges and pathways99,429,500-
2006Egyptian Arch Railway BridgeEgyptian Arch Railway Bridge surrounded by railway station canopy dagsNorthern IrelandAn incuse decorative feature symbolising bridges and pathways38,938,000-
2007Millennium BridgeGateshead Millennium Bridge surrounded by strutsEnglandAn incuse decorative feature symbolising bridges and pathways26,180,160-
2008Royal ArmsOrnamental royal armsUnited KingdomDECUS ET TUTAMENAn ornament and a safeguard3,910,000
2008Shield of the Royal ArmsThe shield from the Royal Coat of ArmsUnited KingdomDECUS ET TUTAMENAn ornament and a safeguard43,827,300
2009Shield of the Royal ArmsThe shield from the Royal Coat of ArmsUnited KingdomDECUS ET TUTAMENAn ornament and a safeguard27,625,600
2010Shield of the Royal ArmsThe shield from the Royal Coat of ArmsUnited KingdomDECUS ET TUTAMENAn ornament and a safeguard57,120,000
2010LondonCoat of arms of the City of LondonEnglandDOMINE DIRIGE NOSLord, guide us2,635,000
2010BelfastCoat of arms of BelfastNorthern IrelandPRO TANTO QUID RETRIBUAMUSFor so much, what shall we give in return?6,205,000
2011Shield of the Royal ArmsThe shield from the Royal Coat of ArmsUnited KingdomDECUS ET TUTAMENAn ornament and a safeguard25,415,000
2011CardiffCoat of arms of CardiffWalesY DDRAIG GOCH DDYRY CYCHWYNThe red dragon will give the lead1,615,000
2011EdinburghCoat of arms of EdinburghScotlandNISI DOMINUS FRUSTRAIn vain without the Lord935,000
2012Shield of the Royal ArmsThe shield from the Royal Coat of ArmsUnited KingdomDECUS ET TUTAMENAn ornament and a safeguard35,700,030
2013Shield of the Royal ArmsThe shield from the Royal Coat of ArmsUnited KingdomDECUS ET TUTAMENAn ornament and a safeguard13,090,500
2013Rose and OakOak and Tudor roseEnglandDECUS ET TUTAMENAn ornament and a safeguard5,270,000
2013Leek and DaffodilLeek and daffodilWalesPLEIDIOL WYF I'M GWLADTrue am I to my country5,270,000
2014Flax and ShamrockShamrock and flax plantNorthern IrelandDECUS ET TUTAMENAn ornament and a safeguard5,780,000
2014Thistle and BluebellThistle and bluebellScotlandNEMO ME IMPUNE LACESSITNo one attacks me with impunity5,185,000
2014Shield of the Royal ArmsThe shield from the Royal Coat of ArmsUnited KingdomDECUS ET TUTAMENAn ornament and a safeguard79,305,200
2015Shield of the Royal ArmsThe shield from the Royal Coat of Arms United KingdomDECUS ET TUTAMENAn ornament and a safeguard29,580,000
2015Shield of the Royal ArmsThe shield from the Royal Coat of Arms United KingdomDECUS ET TUTAMENAn ornament and a safeguard75,000
2015Royal ArmsThe Royal Coat of Arms United KingdomDECUS ET TUTAMENAn ornament and a safeguard129,616,985
2016Shield of the Royal ArmsThe shield from the Royal Coat of Arms United KingdomDECUS ET TUTAMENAn ornament and a safeguard30,000
2016Last Round PoundFour heraldic beastsUnited KingdomDECUS ET TUTAMENAn ornament and a safeguardNot circulated

All years except 1998 and 1999 have been issued into circulation, although the number issued has varied enormously – 1983, 1984 and 1985 in particular had large mintages to facilitate the changeover from paper notes, while some years such as 1988 are only rarely seen. Production since 1997 has been reduced as a result of the introduction of the circulating two pound coin.
The final round coins minted for 2016 and the 2015 Shield of the Royal Arms fifth portrait did not enter circulation, as they were only available through commemorative sets. These were the shield from the Royal Coat of Arms by Matthew Dent, and a design by Gregory Cameron, Bishop of St Asaph, of four heraldic beasts.