One Pound 2004 Forth Railway Bridge, Coin from United Kingdom - detailed information

By 1980 it had become apparent that with the general decline in purchasing power, the £1 unit of currency was more appropriate to a coin than a banknote. After consultation with many groups including retailers and special interest groups, the Government announced on 31 July 1981 that a new £1 coin that was to be issued on 21 April 1983. Since its launch the £1 has always represented the United Kingdom and its constituent parts; England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.

The £1 coin in base metal (as opposed to the gold sovereign, which has a nominal face value of one pound too), nickel-brass was introduced in 1983, as a replacement for the £1 banknote. The reverse design of the first £1 coin showed a depiction of the Royal Coat of Arms, representing the United Kingdom as a whole. It was issued until 2015 in rotation with other designs representing Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland and England, alternating each year in that order.

Initially, Scotland was represented by the Thistle and Diadem type of one pound coins, then by the Lion Rampant One Pound.

The Forth Railway Bridge One Pound was the first of four coins in a new series featuring bridges. In a refreshing departure from the more traditional heraldic approach, the series features famous bridges in each of the four constituent parts of the United Kingdom and makes for a fascinating tribute to British architecture and engineering achievement. Showing one of the major engineering achievements of the Victorian age, the intricate depiction of the Forth Rail Bridge (a cantilever railway bridge across the Firth of Forth in the east of Scotland) on the 2004 £1 coin was designed by wood engraver Edwina Ellis.

Scotland was later represented by the 2011 Edinburgh One Pound and the 2014 One Pound with the floral emblem of Scotland.

Coins issued in 2004 circulated for 13 years until they were demonetised in 2017 and replaced with the current bimetallic one pound coin.