One Pound, Coin Type from United Kingdom - detailed information

The British one pound (£1) coin is a circulating denomination of the Pound Sterling. The coin was introduced on the 9 February 1983 to replace the Bank of England one pound 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.

The original coin was round and was made of nickel-brass. The design of the reverse was changed each year from 1983 to 2008 to show, in turn, an emblem representing the United Kingdom as a whole (Royal Arms), Scotland (Thistle and Diadem or Lion), Wales (Leek and Diadem or Dragon), Northern Ireland (Flax and Diadem or Celtic Cross), and England (Oak Tree and Diadem or Three Lions), together with an appropriate edge inscription. 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 2008, a new reverse by Matthew Dent was introduced. In a world-first concept, 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.

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on 28 March 2017 and both new and old versions of the one pound coin circulated together until the older design was withdrawn from circulation on 15 October 2017. The new coin is bimetallic like the current £2 coin, and features several advanced security features.