1 Pound - Elizabeth II 2nd portrait Scottish Thistle (1984)

About the 1984 1 Pound - Elizabeth II – Scottish Thistle

The 1984 1 Pound - Elizabeth II – Scottish Thistle is a circulating 1 pound coin in the Round Pound series, struck in nickel brass. It weighs 9.5g and measures 22.5mm across. Reverse design: Scottish thistle encircled by Royal Diadem, denomination below.

146,256,501 were struck. It is no longer legal tender (withdrawn 2017), so its value is to collectors only.

Common questions

History and design

The round £1 entered circulation on 21 April 1983 with a Royal Arms reverse standing for the whole United Kingdom. From 1984 the reverse changed each year to represent one of the four nations in turn, and the Royal Mint describes this first run of designs as taking floral emblems as its theme. Scotland came first, with the thistle.

The Royal Mint's figures give 146,256,501 struck for circulation. That is the third highest of any round £1 date, behind the 1983 Royal Arms (443,053,510) and the 1985 Leek (228,430,749). The thistle returned in 1989, when a further 70,580,501 were struck with a different portrait of the Queen.

Round pounds were replaced by the 12-sided £1 from 28 March 2017 and lost their legal tender status at midnight on 15 October 2017.

The reverse is by Leslie Durbin, whom Change Checker describes as one of the most highly regarded silversmiths of the 20th century. The Royal Mint's description is a thistle and royal diadem, representing Scotland. Check Your Change puts it more simply as a Scottish thistle in a coronet. Durbin used the same arrangement for the leek, flax and oak coins that followed.

The milled edge carries NEMO ME IMPUNE LACESSIT in place of the DECUS ET TUTAMEN of 1983. Check Your Change translates it as "no one provokes me with impunity" and describes it as the Latin motto of the Stuart dynasty, found on some Scottish coins of the 16th century.

The obverse has Arnold Machin's portrait of Elizabeth II. The Royal Mint lists Machin's portrait for round pounds of 1983 and 1984 only, so this is the second and last £1 to carry it. Raphael Maklouf's portrait took over in 1985.

Varieties and errors

No recognised varieties or mint errors are documented for this coin. Edge lettering that reads upside down when the Queen's head faces up is not an error. The Royal Mint explains that the inscription is rolled onto the blank before striking, so it can point either way, and there is no right or wrong way.

Collecting notes

The quickest way to separate this coin from the 1989 Thistle is the date, then the portrait: the 1984 coin has Arnold Machin's portrait of the Queen and the 1989 coin has Raphael Maklouf's. The 1989 issue is catalogued separately as the 1989 Thistle £1.

With a mintage this large the coin is plentiful, and condition is what sets examples apart. These coins could have circulated for up to 33 years, so look for a sharp thistle head, clear detail in the diadem and a fully legible edge. The design was also struck as a silver proof and a silver piedfort for collectors. The coin can no longer be spent, though the Royal Mint says most high street banks may still accept round pounds for deposit.