The history of the £1

I’m sure you’ve seen the new Bee £1 featuring King Charles III on the obverse, you might have even been lucky enough to find one in your change! But the new Bee £1 has come a long way since the very first UK £1, which, believe it or not, wasn’t a coin at all – but a note!

Let’s take a look at the history of the £1 to find out how we ended up with our latest definitive £1 design.

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Timeline of the Pound

The concept of the pound dates back to the Anglo-Saxon period in the late 8th century when the pound was defined by weight. It originally represented a pound weight of silver, which was equivalent to 240 silver pennies.

The first banknotes

In 1694, the Bank of England issued the first ever banknotes to finance King William III’s war against France. These handwritten notes were considered a safer alternative to carrying a large amount of coins. Initially, they were only issued to high-ranking merchants and traders and weren’t widely circulated.

As banking infrastructure improved, £1 banknotes gradually became more available to the general public. By the 18th century, notes were becoming more common, although they weren’t universally trusted, and coins remained the dominant currency.

The Gold Standard

The UK adopted the Gold Standard in 1816, linking the value of the pound to a fixed weight of gold. This pegged the £1 to a specific quantity of gold, enhancing stability in the British monetary system. During this period, a £1 note represented a tangible amount of gold held by the Bank of England, lending further security to paper currency.

However, the Gold Standard also restricted the flexibility of the currency. It was suspended during World War I and again during World War II, as the government needed to print more money to fund war efforts. The final abandonment of the Gold Standard came in 1931 due to the Great Depression, leading to a new era where the pound was no longer tied to a specific commodity.

Decimalisation and the modern £1

One of the most significant changes in the history of the pound came in 1971 when the UK officially moved to a decimal system. Previously, the pound was divided into 20 shillings, each containing 12 pence, meaning there were 240 pence in a pound. Decimalisation simplified this system, introducing a straightforward division where one pound equalled 100 new pence.

By this time, the £1 had largely existed as a banknote rather than a coin. However, with inflation making the £1 note less practical, the government decided to reintroduce a £1 coin in 1983, designed with durability in mind for regular use. The round pound featured 25 different designs until it was removed from circulation in 2017.

12-sided bi-metallic £1

Counterfeiting became a significant issue, and to combat this, The Royal Mint launched a new 12-sided bi-metallic £1 coin in 2017, which is often referred to as the “most secure coin in the world.” You can read more about the innovative security features of the 12-sided £1 on our blog.

Until 2024, there was only one 12-sided £1 design in circulation. The design includes a thistle representing Scotland, a leek for Wales, a shamrock for Northern Ireland, and a rose for England, symbolizing the unity of the United Kingdom.

The first King Charles III £1

In 2023, the very first definitive coins to feature King Charles III were revealed, including a new £1 design for the first time in 6 years. The New UK Coinage featured 8 brand new designs, each representing His Majesty’s passion for nature and conservation, with the £1 featuring two bees.

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