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The very first £1 coin was issued in 1983 following decimalisation, and for many, the introduction of the £1 coin marked the beginning of their collecting journey. From 1983 until 2017, there were 25 different round pound coin designs issued, until they were removed from circulation in 2017 and replaced by the 12-sided bimetallic £1 coin that we use today. And in 2024 we saw the very first £1 coin featuring King Charles III enter circulation with the Bee £1!

But out of all the £1 coin designs issued over the last 42 years, which is the rarest?

£1 Mintage Figures

Scarcity cannot be determined on mintage figures alone, so we created our Scarcity Index which combines this with real collector demand, measured by Change Checker swap data. Our £1 Scarcity Index was set in stone in 2017 following the withdrawal of round pounds from circulation, which you can see here >>

Rarity, however, relates to how many of each coin design were in circulation for collectors to find. And whilst all round £1 coins are no longer in circulation, we can still look at their mintage figures to determine which would have been the hardest to come across.

The rarest £1 coin design

With a shockingly low mintage of just 935,000, the 2011 Scotland: Edinburgh City claims the title of rarest £1 UK coin design!

At just shy of 1 million, you might think the mintage doesn’t seem particularly low, however when compared to the Royal Arms £1 which has a total mintage of 623,304,510 across the years it was issued (1983, 1993, 2003 and 2008) – you would have had to be incredibly lucky to find one in your change!

This coin was part of the Capital Cities series which featured four designs, each representing one of the constituent countries. The reverse designs, by Goldsmith and Jeweller to the Queen, Stuart Devlin all feature the official badges of the capital cities of the United Kingdom, the Scotland: Edinburgh City £1 featuring Edinburgh Castle and rock in the centre, with three flags flying from the towers.

The Wales: Cardiff City £1 comes in second place with a mintage of 1,615,000 and the England: London City £1 is the third rarest with a mintage of 2,635,000. So the Capital City series is sure to be a popular ones with collectors looking for a rare gem!

How much is an Edinburgh £1 worth?

Although round pound coins were withdrawn from circulation in 2017, it was reported in 2020 that almost 170 million round £1 coins didn’t make it back to the Royal Mint. So whilst they’re no longer legal tender, they can technically still be found in your change!

And if you have an Edinburgh £1 in your collection, it could fetch you a pretty penny on the secondary market.

A look at recent sold listings on eBay revealed that a 2011 Scotland: Edinburgh City £1 could fetch you up to £9.99, almost 10 times its face value!

Do you have any rare round pound coins in your collection? Let us know in the comments!

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Gaps in your round pound collection?

If you’re missing any of the 25 round pound designs, our Mystery Round Pound bundle is the best way to fill any gaps. Each bundle includes 3 random round pounds, meaning you’ll have all the fun of a coin hunt, plus you can save up to 17% compared to buying them individually!

Try your hand at our Mystery Round Pound Bundle for just £20 post free! >>