1 Pound - Elizabeth II English Lions Gold Proof (2002–2008)

About the 2002 1 Pound - Elizabeth II English Lions – Gold Proof

The 2002 1 Pound - Elizabeth II English Lions – Gold Proof is a collector 1 pound coin issued from 2002 to 2008 in the Round Pound series, struck in 91.67% gold. It weighs 19.6g and measures 22.5mm across. Reverse design: Three lions passant guardant above denomination.

A mintage of 150 is recorded for one date of this type; figures for each year are not held. It is no longer legal tender (withdrawn 2017), so its value is to collectors only.

Common questions

History and design

This is a collector version of the 1 Pound - Elizabeth II – English Lions. The history below is that coin's; the mintage, varieties and collecting notes on its page do not apply to this strike.

The 2002 pound closed the heraldic series of round £1 coins. Norman Sillman's four national designs had first appeared from 1994 to 1997 and were repeated from 1999 to 2002 with a new portrait of the Queen. England came last both times, so the three lions of 2002 were the final heraldic issue. The Royal Arms followed in 2003 and a new series showing bridges began in 2004.

The Royal Mint's figures give 77,818,000 struck for circulation, the 11th highest of the 41 round £1 entries and well above the 57,117,450 of the 1997 coin. It is the largest issue of any round pound representing England. The oak tree pounds had 39,298,502 (1987) and 36,320,487 (1992), and the later English designs were smaller still: 26,180,160 for the 2007 Gateshead Millennium Bridge, 2,635,000 for the 2010 London coin and 5,270,000 for the 2013 floral coin.

Round pounds lost their legal tender status at midnight on 15 October 2017.

The reverse shows three lions passant guardant, representing England. The Royal Mint says the three lions date back to Richard the Lionheart, king from 1189 to 1199, who used three golden lions on a scarlet background as a symbol of the English throne.

The milled edge reads DECUS ET TUTAMEN, translated as "an ornament and safeguard", as on the 1997 coin. What changed in 2002 was the obverse, which has the fourth portrait of Elizabeth II, by Ian Rank-Broadley, in place of Raphael Maklouf's.