The Pound Coin

The pound is one coin from the official currency of the United Kingdom's Pound Sterling (£). It is in circulation in the Isle of Man, Channel Islands and British overseas Territories of South Georgia, the South Sandwich Islands, British Antarctic Territory and Tristan da Cunha. The pound is subdivided into 100 pence, singular being penny. The Channel Islands and the Isle of Man produce their own local issues of sterling; see Manx Pound, Jersey Pound. The Pound sterling is also used in Gibraltar, the Falkland Islands and Saint Helena. The Sterling is the third largest reserve currency, after the US dollar and the euro.

The Circulating British one Pound coin is minted from a nickel-brass alloy of approximately 70% copper, 24.5% zinc, and 5.5% nickel. The coin weighs 9.50 grams (0.34 oz) and has a diameter of 22.50 millimetres (0.89 in). The coind was introduced on 21 April 1983 to replace the Bank of England one pound note, which ceased to be issued at the end of 1984 and was removed from circulation (though still redeemable at the Bank's offices ) on 11 March 1988. One pound notes are still issued in Jersey, Guernsey and te Isle of Man and by the Royal Bank of Scotland, but the pound coin is much more widely used. It was given the nickname "round pound" on introduction, although this term did not remain in common use.

As of March 2008 there were an estimated 1452 million £1 coins in circulation.