Old £1 Coins

The old £1 coin was the 1983 replacement for the Bank of England £1 note. The note remained in circulation alongside the new coin until 1988. The old £1 coin reverses featured many different designs. Designs alternated each year for the UK, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland and England. None are actually commemorative designs.

There were lots of fake old style £1 coins in circulation. They were of lower quality than the real ones and very often have mis-matching reverse themes and edge inscriptions. (Compared to how they should be for the date shown on the heads side).

Edge lettering up the wrong way?: Lots of recent enquiries about the wording on the edges of £1 and £2 coins. The edge lettering can be up one way or the other, it’s completely random. A tabloid started an unfounded rumour in December 2016.

There were 46 different ROUND £1 coins. 5 of them were available in sets only, these were 1998, 1999, 2015 shield, 2016 shield and the 2016 last round pound.

Two 12-sided £1 coins have officially been released (one dated 2016 and one dated 2017). More information on new £1 varieties here.

Shown at the bottom of this page are specifications of the old £1 coin.

Details of all £1 coins are shown on separate pages and linked to below (click on text to see details for that date. Click on the image to see a larger version of that design):

1pound1983rev1983 One Pound 1pound1984thistle1984 One Pound 1pound1985leek1985 One Pound 1pound1986rev1986 One Pound 1pound1992rev1987 One Pound
1pound1988revpp1988 One Pound 1pound1984thistle1989 One Pound 1pound1985leek1990 One Pound 1pound1986rev1991 One Pound 1pound1992rev1992 One Pound
1pound1983rev1993 One Pound 1pound1994rev1994 One Pound 1pound2000rev1995 One Pound 1pound1996celticcross1996 One Pound 1pound1997threelions1997 One Pound
1pound1983rev1998 One Pound 1pound1994rev1999 One Pound 1pound2000rev2000 One Pound 1pound1996celticcross2001 One Pound 1pound1997threelions2002 One Pound
1pound1983rev2003 One Pound 1pound2004rev2004 One Pound 1pound2005rev2005 One Pound 1pound2006rev2006 One Pound 1pound2007_rev2007 One Pound
1pound1983rev2008 One Pound 1pound2008dentrev2008 One Pound 1pound2008dentrev2009 One Pound 1pound2008dentrev2010 One Pound 1pound2010belfast2010 One Pound
1pound2010london2010 One Pound 1pound2008dentrev2011 One Pound 1pound2011cardiff2011 One Pound 1pound2011edinburgh2011 One Pound 1pound2008dentrev2012 One Pound
1pound2008dentrev2013 One Pound 1pound2013england2013 One Pound 1pound2013wales2013 One Pound 1pound2008dentrev2014 One Pound 1pound2014sco2014 One Pound
1pound2014ni2014 One Pound 1pound2008dentrev2015 One Pound (4th) 1pound2008dentrev2015 One Pound (5th) pound2015armsr2015 One Pound 1pound2008dentrev2016 One Pound
pound2016r2016 One Pound
The Heads:
1pound1983obv1983-84 1pound1986obv1985-97 1pound2003obv1998-2008 1pound2008dentobv2008-15 1poundobvb2015-2016

Text only links, in case the table above does not display correctly:

1983, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008 (2 different £1 coins), 2009, 2010 (3 different £1 coins), 2011 (3 different £1 coins), 2012, 2013 (3 different £1 coins), 2014 (3 different £1 coins), 2015 (3 different £1 coins), 2016 (2 different £1 coins, only one of which will be seen in circulation), 2017 (Just one 12 sided new coin).

UK old £1 coin specifications:

1983 to 2016 (round):

Size: 22.5mm
Thickness: 3.15mm
Metal Composition: 70% copper, 5.5% nickel, 24.5% zinc (referred to as nickel-brass)
Weight: 9.5 grammes