1983 saw the introduction of the pound coin

The 21st of April 1983 saw the introduction of the pound coin for the first time in the UK. The government of the day felt that a more robust coin would be much better than the existing pound note, which lasted on average just nine months.

The new £1 coin was designed to last over 40 years, and examples of the original 1983 design are still in circulation today alongside more recent designs. The coin weighs 9.5 grams, with a diameter of 2.25cm and its composition is approximately 70 percent copper, with 24.5 percent zinc and 5.5 percent nickel. The original design featured the ornamental Royal Arms on the 'tails' side, and of course the Queen's head on the other side, with a ridged edge and the motto 'DECUS ET TUTAMEN' ('An ornament and a safeguard') inscribed in it.

When launched, the coin was not immediately popular with the public, with the tabloid press dismissing it as a 'flop'. However it soon became accepted, and in subsequent years the design on the 'tails' side would feature symbols to represent the constituent countries of the United Kingdom, as well as different inscriptions on the edge.  The coin circulated alongside the pound note until 1988, when the decision was taken to withdraw the note, a move not welcomed by all but one which became inevitable once a sufficient number of coins went into circulation.

In 1983 when the coin was launched, the price of a loaf of bread was 38p (according to data from the Office of National Statistics). In 2012 a similar loaf would cost £1.24, and a pint of milk costing 24p in 1983 would by 2012 cost 46p.

The coin was designed to be easily found amongst loose change, although it has inevitably been targeted by counterfeiters. It is thought that about 3 percent of £1 coins in circulation are fakes, and banks work closely alongside the Royal Mint to identify and remove from circulation counterfeit £1 coins. Most fakes are reasonably easy to spot, by checking the milled edge of the coin to make sure it is even or by looking at the lettering. The colouring is also a giveaway; a genuine coin - even one that has been in circulation for a while - will appear more golden than a fake which is likely to have become dulled or even changed colour over time.

*2023 update - A new design for the £1 coin came into circulation in March 2017; this featured a bimetallic design and was 12-sided, unlike the earlier round coin which was withdrawn from circulation in October of that year.*

A news report from 2012 which comes from the Royal Mint in Llantrisant, Wales claims that one in 36 of every pound coins is a fake, which is available to view here: