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One pound coin
The British one pound (£1) coin is a denomination of sterling coinage. Its obverse has featured the profile of Charles III since 2024 and bears the Latin engraving CHARLES III D G REX (Dei Gratia Rex) F D (Fidei defensor), 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on 28 March 2017 and both new and old versions of the one pound coin circulated together until the older design was withdrawn from circulation on 15 October 2017.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.
To date, four different portraits of Elizabeth II have appeared on the obverse. For the first three of these, the inscription was ELIZABETH II D.G.REG.F.D. 2013, where 2013 is replaced by the year of minting. The fourth design, unveiled in March 2015, expanded the inscription slightly to ELIZABETH II DEI.GRA.REG.FID.DEF. 2015. The 12-sided design, introduced in March 2017, reverted to 2017 ELIZABETH II D.G.REG.F.D.
In summary:
In August 2005 the Royal Mint launched a competition to find new reverse designs for all circulating coins apart from the £2 coin. The winner, announced in April 2008, was Matthew Dent, whose designs were gradually introduced into the circulating British coinage from mid-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.
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One pound coin AI simulator
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One pound coin
The British one pound (£1) coin is a denomination of sterling coinage. Its obverse has featured the profile of Charles III since 2024 and bears the Latin engraving CHARLES III D G REX (Dei Gratia Rex) F D (Fidei defensor), 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.
To date, four different portraits of Elizabeth II have appeared on the obverse. For the first three of these, the inscription was ELIZABETH II D.G.REG.F.D. 2013, where 2013 is replaced by the year of minting. The fourth design, unveiled in March 2015, expanded the inscription slightly to ELIZABETH II DEI.GRA.REG.FID.DEF. 2015. The 12-sided design, introduced in March 2017, reverted to 2017 ELIZABETH II D.G.REG.F.D.
In summary:
In August 2005 the Royal Mint launched a competition to find new reverse designs for all circulating coins apart from the £2 coin. The winner, announced in April 2008, was Matthew Dent, whose designs were gradually introduced into the circulating British coinage from mid-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.