1 Pound - Elizabeth II 3rd portrait Scottish Lion (1994)

About the 1994 1 Pound - Elizabeth II – Scottish Lion

The 1994 1 Pound - Elizabeth II – Scottish Lion 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: A lion rampant within a double tressure flory counter-flory above denomination.

29,752,525 were struck. It is no longer legal tender (withdrawn 2017), so its value is to collectors only.

Common questions

History and design

The 1994 pound started a new run of national designs. The first series, issued from 1984, had given each nation a floral emblem. The Royal Mint describes the second series as heraldic, and it opened with Scotland: a lion rampant in 1994, followed by a dragon for Wales in 1995, a Celtic cross for Northern Ireland in 1996 and three lions for England in 1997.

The Royal Mint's figures give 29,752,525 struck for circulation. That is the lowest of the seven dated issues in the heraldic series, which ran to 2002, with the 1995 Dragon next at 34,503,501. It was also a sharp drop from the 114,744,500 Royal Arms pounds of 1993. The Mint's design table lists the Lion Rampant for 1999 as well, but its circulating figures have no £1 entry for that year.

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.

Norman Sillman designed all four coins of the heraldic series. This one shows the lion rampant, representing Scotland. Change Checker explains the term: the lion stands upright with its forelegs raised and claws unsheathed. It adds that the symbol was first used to represent the Scottish kingdom by King Alexander II in the 13th century.

The edge keeps the Scottish motto introduced on the 1984 Thistle, NEMO ME IMPUNE LACESSIT, which Check Your Change translates as "no one provokes me with impunity" and identifies as the Latin motto of the Stuart dynasty. The obverse has Raphael Maklouf's portrait of Elizabeth II. The Royal Mint lists that portrait for round pounds up to 1997, so 1994 is the only circulating date on which it appears with the lion.

Varieties and errors

No recognised varieties or mint errors are documented for this coin. The edge motto may read either way up when the coin is held obverse upwards. The Royal Mint states that there is no right or wrong way, because blanks are lettered on the edge before they are struck.

Collecting notes

For a circulating collection this is a one-date coin. Check the date and look for a sharply detailed lion and an edge that can be read in full. Although its mintage is the lowest of the heraldic series, it is not scarce by the standards of later round pounds, several of which were struck in numbers below ten million.

The design was also struck as a silver proof and a silver piedfort. The site catalogues the later version with Ian Rank-Broadley's portrait separately as the 1999 Scottish Lion £1. Scotland's previous round pound was the 1989 Thistle £1. The coin can no longer be spent, though most high street banks may still accept round pounds for deposit.