The one pound coin (£1) is a denomination of modern British coinage that is worth one pound sterling: it is commonly known simply as a pound coin. Since 2024, its obverse has featured the profile of Charles III 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 (12-sided) 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on 28 March 2017 and both new and old versions of the one pound coin circulated together until the older design was withdrawn from circulation on 15 October 2017.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" (Integrated Secure Identification Systems).
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 1983 and 1984 the portrait of Queen Elizabeth II by Arnold Machin appeared on the obverse, in which the Queen wears the "Girls of Great Britain and Ireland" Tiara. Between 1985 and 1997 the portrait by Raphael Maklouf was used, in which the Queen wears the George IV State Diadem. Between 1998 and 2015 the portrait by Ian Rank-Broadley was used, again featuring the tiara, with a signature-mark below the portrait. In 2015 the portrait by Jody Clark was introduced, in which the Queen wears the George IV State Diadem, with a signature-mark below the portrait.
In August 2005 the Royal Mint launched a competition to find new reverse designs for all circulating coins apart from the £2 coin."Royal Mint seeks new coin designs", BBC News, 17 August 2005 The winner, announced in April 2008, was Matthew Dent, whose designs were gradually introduced into the circulating British coinage from mid-2008."Royal Mint unveils new UK coins" , dofonline.co.uk, 2 April 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" (when obverse is facing upward). 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 (except 2004–2007 and the 2010–11 "capital cities" designs) 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.New One Pound Coin Royal Mint 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. +Images: Royal Mint Year Name Design Nation represented Edge inscription Translation Mintage 1983 Royal Arms Ornamental royal arms United Kingdom An ornament and a safeguard 443,053,510 1984 Thistle Thistle and royal diadem Scotland No one attacks me with impunity 146,256,501 1985 Leek Leek and royal diadem Wales True am I to my country 228,430,749 1986 Flax Plant Flax plant and royal diadem Northern Ireland An ornament and a safeguard 10,409,501 1987 Oak Tree Oak tree and royal diadem England An ornament and a safeguard 39,298,502 1988 Shield of the Royal Arms Crown over the royal arms United Kingdom An ornament and a safeguard 7,118,825 1989 Thistle Thistle and royal diadem Scotland No one attacks me with impunity 70,580,501 1990 Leek Leek and royal diadem Wales True am I to my country 97,269,302 1991 Flax Plant Flax plant and royal diadem Northern Ireland An ornament and a safeguard 38,443,575 1992 Oak Tree Oak tree and royal diadem England An ornament and a safeguard 36,320,487 1993 Royal Arms Ornamental royal arms United Kingdom An ornament and a safeguard 114,744,500 1994 Lion Rampant Lion rampant within a double tressure flory counter-flory Scotland No one attacks me with impunity 29,752,525 1995 Dragon Dragon passant Wales True am I to my country 34,503,501 1996 Celtic Cross and Torc Celtic cross, Broighter collar and pimpernel Northern Ireland An ornament and a safeguard 89,886,000 1997 Three Lions Three lions passant guardant England An ornament and a safeguard 57,117,450 1998 Royal Arms Ornamental royal arms United Kingdom An ornament and a safeguard not circulated 1999 Lion Rampant Lion rampant within a double tressure flory counter-flory Scotland No one attacks me with impunity not circulated 2000 Dragon Dragon passant Wales True am I to my country 109,496,500 2001 Celtic Cross and Torc Celtic cross, Broighter collar and pimpernel Northern Ireland An ornament and a safeguard 63,968,065 2002 Three Lions Three lions passant guardant England An ornament and a safeguard 77,818,000 2003 Royal Arms Ornamental royal arms United Kingdom An ornament and a safeguard 61,596,500 2004 Forth Railway Bridge Forth Railway Bridge surrounded by railway tracks Scotland An incuse decorative feature symbolising bridges and pathways rowspan="4" 39,162,000 2005 Menai Straits Bridge Menai Suspension Bridge surrounded by railing and stanchions Wales 99,429,500 2006 Egyptian Arch Railway Bridge Egyptian Arch Railway Bridge surrounded by railway station canopy dags Northern Ireland 38,938,000 2007 Millennium Bridge Gateshead Millennium Bridge surrounded by struts England 26,180,160 2008 Royal Arms Ornamental royal arms United Kingdom An ornament and a safeguard 3,910,000 2008 Shield of the Royal Arms The shield from the Royal Coat of Arms United Kingdom An ornament and a safeguard 43,827,300 2009 Shield of the Royal Arms The shield from the Royal Coat of Arms United Kingdom An ornament and a safeguard 27,625,600 2010 Shield of the Royal Arms The shield from the Royal Coat of Arms United Kingdom An ornament and a safeguard 57,120,000 2010 London Coat of arms of the City of London England Lord, guide us 2,635,000 2010 Belfast Coat of arms of Belfast Northern Ireland For so much, what shall we give in return? 6,205,000 2011 Shield of the Royal Arms The shield from the Royal Coat of Arms United Kingdom An ornament and a safeguard 25,415,000 2011 Cardiff Coat of arms of Cardiff Wales The red dragon will give the lead 1,615,000 2011 Edinburgh Coat of arms of Edinburgh Scotland In vain without the Lord 935,000 2012 Shield of the Royal Arms The shield from the Royal Coat of Arms United Kingdom An ornament and a safeguard 35,700,030 2013 Shield of the Royal Arms The shield from the Royal Coat of Arms United Kingdom An ornament and a safeguard 13,090,500 2013 Rose and Oak Oak and Tudor rose England An ornament and a safeguard 5,270,000 2013 Leek and Daffodil Leek and daffodil Wales True am I to my country 5,270,000 2014 Flax and Shamrock Shamrock and flax plant Northern Ireland An ornament and a safeguard 5,780,000 2014 Thistle and Bluebell Thistle and bluebell Scotland No one attacks me with impunity 5,185,000 2014 Shield of the Royal Arms The shield from the Royal Coat of Arms United Kingdom An ornament and a safeguard 79,305,200 2015 Shield of the Royal Arms The shield from the Royal Coat of Arms (fourth portrait) United Kingdom An ornament and a safeguard 29,580,0002015Shield of the Royal ArmsThe shield from the Royal Coat of Arms (fifth portrait)United KingdomAn ornament and a safeguard75,000 (only in BU sets)2015 Royal Arms The Royal Coat of Arms (fifth portrait)United KingdomAn ornament and a safeguard129,616,9852016 Shield of the Royal Arms The shield from the Royal Coat of Arms (fifth portrait)United KingdomAn ornament and a safeguard30,000 (only in BU sets) 2016 Last Round Pound Four heraldic beasts United Kingdom An ornament and a safeguard Not 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 (although 1988 is more noticeable as it has a unique reverse). 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.
12-sided coin Year Design Nation represented Mintage 2016 Nations of the Crown United Kingdom 300,000,000 (initial launch in March 2017)2017Nations of the CrownUnited Kingdom749,616,2002018Nations of the CrownUnited Kingdom130,560,0002019Nations of the CrownUnited Kingdom138,635,0002020Nations of the CrownUnited Kingdom55,840,1692021Nations of the CrownUnited Kingdom21,760,0002022Nations of the CrownUnited Kingdom7,735,0002023BeesUnited Kingdom10,030,0002025BeesUnited Kingdom9,010,000
Counterfeiting