Common: 10,000,000 or more minted. Sells often: 44 verified sales in the last 12 months.
1 Pound - Elizabeth II 3rd portrait Welsh Dragon (1995)
"1995 Welsh Dragon £1"
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Year | 1995 |
| Denomination | 1 Pound |
| Face value | £1 |
| Mintage | 34,503,501 |
| Mint | Royal Mint · Llantrisant |
| Series | Round Pound Series |
| Circulation | Circulating |
| Demonetised | 2017 |
| Composition | Nickel brass |
| Weight | 9.500g |
| Diameter | 22.5mm |
| Thickness | 3.15mm |
| Shape | Round |
| Edge | Milled with inscription: PLEIDIOL WYF I'M GWLAD |
| Orientation | Medal alignment ↑↑ |
| Obv. artist | Raphael Maklouf |
| Rev. artist | Norman Sillman |
| Grade scale | UK (EF/UNC) |
Third crowned portrait of Queen Elizabeth II right, wearing the George IV State Diadem, legend around
A Welsh dragon passant above denomination
Welsh Dragon £1 market value
Find this on eBay
AffiliateWelsh Dragon £1 price history
Daily limit reachedWelsh Dragon £1 value by grade
Realised auction prices · ⭐ Pro Expand rows for individual sale records| Grade | Latest | Median | 30d Δ | All-time range | Sales (1yr) | Total sales | Last sale | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BU | £5.50 🔒 eBay | £4.20 | – | £2.20 – £11.99 | 29 | 29 | 30-08-2026 | |
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| VF | £2.49 🔒 eBay | £2.99 | – | £1.16 – £5.45 | 13 | 13 | 14-10-2026 | |
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| AG | £14.62 🔒 | £14.62 (2) | – | £14.62 – £14.62 | 0 | 2 | 07-07-2020 | |
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| PR-65 | £6.08 🔒 eBay | £6.08 (1) | – | £6.08 – £6.08 | 1 | 1 | 29-08-2026 | |
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| MS-63 | £42.94 🔒 eBay | £42.94 (1) | – | £42.94 – £42.94 | 1 | 1 | 14-09-2026 | |
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About the 1995 1 Pound - Elizabeth II – Welsh Dragon
The 1995 1 Pound - Elizabeth II – Welsh Dragon 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 Welsh dragon passant above denomination.
34,503,501 were struck. It is no longer legal tender (withdrawn 2017), so its value is to collectors only.
Common questions
How much is the 1995 1 Pound - Elizabeth II – Welsh Dragon worth?
Verified sold prices for the 1995 1 Pound - Elizabeth II – Welsh Dragon run from £2.99 to £42.94 across 5 grades, taking the median for each grade. Condition makes the difference, so check the grade table above before pricing one.
Is the 1995 Welsh Dragon £1 rare?
No. The Royal Mint's figures give 34,503,501 struck for circulation. Of the 41 round £1 entries in those figures, 17 are lower, including every capital city and floral pound of 2010 to 2014. Among the heraldic pounds only the 1994 Lion Rampant had a smaller issue.
Who designed the 1995 dragon £1 coin?
Norman Sillman designed the dragon reverse, along with the other three national designs in the heraldic series of 1994 to 1997. The portrait of the Queen on the obverse is by Raphael Maklouf, whose effigy the Royal Mint lists for round pounds from 1985 to 1997.
What does PLEIDIOL WYF I'M GWLAD mean on the £1 coin?
It is Welsh, and Check Your Change translates it as "true am I to my country". The Royal Mint lists the same edge inscription for the Welsh Leek pounds of 1985 and 1990 and for the dragon coin when it was struck again in 2000.
Can I still spend a 1995 £1 coin?
No. The round £1 lost its legal tender status at midnight on 15 October 2017, after the 12-sided £1 was released on 28 March 2017. The Royal Mint says round pounds can still be deposited at most UK high street banks, with arrangements that vary by bank.
What is the difference between the 1995 and 2000 dragon £1 coins?
The reverse and edge are the same. The 1995 coin has Raphael Maklouf's portrait of the Queen and a circulating mintage of 34,503,501. The 2000 coin has Ian Rank-Broadley's portrait and a much larger mintage of 109,496,500 in the Royal Mint's figures.
How do I identify the 1995 1 Pound - Elizabeth II – Welsh Dragon?
Check the weight 9.5g and diameter 22.5mm and the metal (nickel brass) against the specification table on this page. The reverse design is described above.
History and design
The round £1 changed its reverse every year, taking the United Kingdom and its four nations in turn. The first cycle of designs used floral emblems, and Wales was shown by a leek in 1985 and 1990. The second cycle was heraldic, and its Welsh coin, dated 1995, was the first pound to show a dragon.
The Royal Mint's figures give 34,503,501 struck for circulation. Of the 41 round £1 entries in those figures, 17 are lower, so this is a middling issue and not a scarce one. Among the seven heraldic pounds that circulated, only the 1994 Lion Rampant had a smaller issue, at 29,752,525. The dragon came back in 2000 with a new portrait and 109,496,500 struck.
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 Norman Sillman, who designed all four national coins of the heraldic series. The Royal Mint describes it as a dragon passant, representing Wales, and explains that passant refers to the dragon's position, with one foot raised.
Sillman was a sculptor. A 2011 profile in the Diss Express credited him with more than 200 coins for 33 countries, beginning with a Royal Mint commission for Bermuda in 1956.
The milled edge carries the Welsh words PLEIDIOL WYF I'M GWLAD, translated by Check Your Change as "true am I to my country". The same edge inscription had been used on the Leek pounds. The obverse has Raphael Maklouf's portrait of Elizabeth II, which the Royal Mint lists for round pounds from 1985 to 1997.
Collecting notes
No recognised varieties or mint errors are documented for this coin.
The first thing to check is which dragon pound you have, because the same reverse appears with two portraits. The 1995 coin has the Maklouf portrait, and the 2000 Welsh Dragon £1 has the later one by Ian Rank-Broadley. The date settles it.
The coin can no longer be spent, so examples do not come from change. It circulated for up to 22 years, so condition varies widely: look for sharp detail on the dragon, a clear edge inscription and clean surfaces. A genuine coin should match the Royal Mint specification of 9.5 g and 22.5 mm.
The design was also struck in silver as a proof and as a piedfort for collectors. The Scottish coin that opened the heraldic series is the 1994 Scottish Lion £1.
Sources
The history, design, varieties and collecting notes on this page are drawn from these sources. Prices come from recorded sales, not from them.
- UK coin mintage figures (data file), The Royal Mint (read 9 Oct 2026)
- One Pound Coin Designs and Specifications, The Royal Mint (read 9 Oct 2026)
- 1995 Elizabeth II 'Dragon Passant, Representing Wales' £1 Coin, The Royal Mint (read 9 Oct 2026)
- 1995 One Pound, Check Your Change (read 9 Oct 2026)
- Article highlights Royal Mint coin sculptor Norman Sillman (The E-Sylum, volume 14, number 44, 23 October 2011, excerpting the Diss Express), Numismatic Bibliomania Society (read 9 Oct 2026)
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