1 Pound - Elizabeth II 3rd portrait Welsh Leek (1985–1990)

One row for each year the 1 Pound - Elizabeth II 3rd portrait – Welsh Leek was struck. Prices are medians of verified sold listings matched to that year from the listing: circulated is worn condition up to Extremely Fine, uncirculated is About Uncirculated or better. A count in brackets means fewer than three sales behind the figure; a grey figure marked "type" is the median across every year, shown where that year has no sale of its own yet. Most types have been searched year by year only since October 2026, so later years are still filling in. Use the grade table below for a price by condition across all years.

About the 1985 1 Pound - Elizabeth II – Welsh Leek

The 1985 1 Pound - Elizabeth II – Welsh Leek is a circulating 1 pound coin issued from 1985 to 1990 in the Round Pound series, struck in nickel brass. It weighs 9.5g and measures 22.5mm across. Reverse design: A leek, the emblem of Wales, encircled by the Royal Diadem.

Mintage figures are recorded for 2 years between 1985 and 1990, 325,700,000 coins in all. 1990 is the scarcest date, with 97,269,300 struck. It is no longer legal tender (withdrawn 2017), so its value is to collectors only.

Common questions

History and design

The Leek £1 was the round pound for Wales in the first series of national designs, which the Royal Mint describes as taking floral emblems as its theme. It followed the Scottish Thistle of 1984 and was issued twice, in 1985 and again in 1990 when the sequence of nations returned to Wales.

The Royal Mint's figures give 228,430,749 struck for circulation in 1985 and 97,269,302 in 1990, a total of 325,700,051. The 1985 figure is the second highest of any round £1 date, behind only the 443,053,510 of the first coin in 1983. Taken together, the two dates make the Leek the most heavily struck of the four floral designs, ahead of the Thistle (216,837,002), the Oak (75,618,989) and the Flax (48,853,076).

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.

Leslie Durbin's reverse shows a leek and royal diadem, representing Wales. It is the second of his four floral designs, each of which places a national plant within the same diadem.

The 1985 coin brought two firsts for the £1. It was the first to carry Raphael Maklouf's portrait of Elizabeth II, which the Royal Mint lists for round pounds from 1985 to 1997 in place of Arnold Machin's. It was also the first with an edge inscription that is not Latin. The milled edge reads PLEIDIOL WYF I'M GWLAD, Welsh words that Check Your Change translates as "true am I to my country". The same inscription was used on later round pounds representing Wales.

Varieties and errors

No recognised varieties or mint errors are documented for this coin. Check Your Change notes that the 1985 and 1990 coins are identical apart from the date. Edge lettering that appears upside down relative to the Queen's head is normal: the Royal Mint says the inscription is applied to the blank before striking and can face either way.

Collecting notes

Both dates are common, and the 1985 coin is among the most plentiful round pounds of all. A date set needs both, and the 1990 coin is the scarcer of the two by mintage. These coins could have circulated for up to 32 years, so judge an example on the sharpness of the leek and diadem and on how clearly the edge can be read.

The design was also struck as a silver proof and, for 1985, a silver piedfort. Its companions in the series are the 1984 Thistle £1 and the Flax £1. The coin can no longer be spent, though the Royal Mint says most high street banks may still accept round pounds for deposit.