One Pound 2010 London, 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, England was represented by the Oak Tree and Diadem type of one pound coins, then by the Three Lions One Pound and the 2007 Millennium Bridge One Pound.

2010 saw the launch of an entirely new £1 coin series which focused on the four capital cities of the UK - the "City Series". It was the first time in a "home countries" £1 coin series that two coins were released in the same year. The two 2010 £1 coins represented London and Belfast. This is the 2010 London £1 coin.

England was later represented by the 2013 One Pound with the floral emblem of England.

Coins issued in 2010 circulated for seven years until they were demonetised in 2017 and replaced with the current bimetallic one pound coin.