One Pound 2005 Menai 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, Wales was represented by the Leek and Diadem type of one pound coins, then by the Dragon One Pound.

The Menai Bridge One Pound was the second 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 Thomas Telford's spectacular Menai Suspension Bridge (Welsh: Pont Grog y Borth) which carries road traffic between the island of Anglesey and the mainland of Wales, the 2005 £1 coin was designed by wood engraver Edwina Ellis.

Wales was later represented by the 2011 Cardiff One Pound and the 2013 One Pound with the floral emblem of Wales.

Coins issued in 2005 circulated for 12 years until they were demonetised in 2017 and replaced with the current bimetallic one pound coin.