Exceptional: fewer than 1,000 minted.
1 Pound - Elizabeth II Flax and Shamrock Gold Proof (2014)
Circulating version: 2014 1 Pound - Elizabeth II – Flax and Shamrock
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Year | 2014 |
| Denomination | 1 Pound |
| Face value | £1 |
| Mintage | 241 |
| Mint | Royal Mint · Llantrisant |
| Series | Round Pound Series |
| Circulation | Non-circulating |
| Demonetised | 2017 |
| Composition | Gold (.9167) (917/1000 fine) |
| Weight | 19.620g · 0.5783 t oz |
| Diameter | 22.5mm |
| Shape | Round |
| Orientation | Medal alignment ↑↑ |
| Grade scale | UK (EF/UNC) |
Fourth crowned portrait of Queen Elizabeth II right, wearing the Girls of Great Britain and Ireland tiara, legend around.
Floral emblems of Northern Ireland, a flax and shamrock, denomination below.
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Daily limit reachedAbout the 2014 1 Pound - Elizabeth II Flax and Shamrock – Gold Proof
The 2014 1 Pound - Elizabeth II Flax and Shamrock – Gold Proof is a collector 1 pound coin in the Round Pound series, struck in 91.67% gold. It weighs 19.62g and measures 22.5mm across. Reverse design: Floral emblems of Northern Ireland, a flax and shamrock, denomination below.
241 were struck. It is no longer legal tender (withdrawn 2017), so its value is to collectors only.
Common questions
How much is the 2014 1 Pound - Elizabeth II Flax and Shamrock – Gold Proof worth?
No verified sale of the 2014 1 Pound - Elizabeth II Flax and Shamrock – Gold Proof has been logged on MyCoinage yet. Its gold content is worth about £1,738 at today's spot price, which puts a floor under its value.
How is the 2014 1 Pound - Elizabeth II Flax and Shamrock – Gold Proof different from the circulating coin?
This is a collector version of the 2014 1 Pound - Elizabeth II – Flax and Shamrock, not the coin found in change. At 19.62g of 91.67% gold it is heavier than the 9.5g nickel circulating coin, so weighing it is the quickest check.
How do I identify the 2014 1 Pound - Elizabeth II Flax and Shamrock – Gold Proof?
Check the weight 19.62g and diameter 22.5mm and the metal (91.67% gold) against the specification table on this page. The reverse design is described above.
History and design
This is a collector version of the 1 Pound - Elizabeth II – Flax and Shamrock. The history below is that coin's; the mintage, varieties and collecting notes on its page do not apply to this strike.
The Northern Ireland coin closed the floral series of round pounds, four designs pairing the plant emblems of the home nations. England and Wales were issued in 2013, Scotland and Northern Ireland in 2014. It circulated beside the Royal Shield £1 of the same date.
The Royal Mint's figures give 5,780,000 struck for circulation. That is the highest of the four floral coins, ahead of England and Wales at 5,270,000 each and Scotland at 5,185,000, but small beside the 79,305,200 Royal Shield pounds dated 2014. Seven dated round £1 issues in the Mint's figures are lower.
It was among the last round pound designs. The 12-sided £1 arrived on 28 March 2017 and round pounds lost legal tender status at midnight on 15 October 2017.
Timothy Noad's reverse sets a flax plant against a shamrock. The Royal Mint described the two as facing each other, balanced in a "yin-yang" arrangement.
The Mint's release explains both plants. The shamrock is tied to St Patrick, who is believed to have used the three-leafed plant to explain the Holy Trinity. Flax, with its blue petals, was at the heart of Northern Ireland's linen industry. Because people from all backgrounds worked in linen, flax is seen as a symbol of unity, and it was adopted as the emblem of the Northern Ireland Assembly. It had already stood for Northern Ireland on the pounds of 1986 and 1991.
Noad said that in a series representing each country the motif on each coin must be "clearly recognisable" and keep within "the heraldic rules and conventions". The milled edge reads DECUS ET TUTAMEN, "an ornament and a safeguard". The obverse has the fourth portrait of Elizabeth II, by Ian Rank-Broadley.
Sources
- UK coin mintage figures (data file), The Royal Mint (read 9 Oct 2026)
- £1 Coin Designs and Specifications, The Royal Mint (read 9 Oct 2026)
- 2014 Elizabeth II 'Floral Northern Ireland' £1 Coin, The Royal Mint (read 9 Oct 2026)
- The Royal Mint's Floral £1 coin series: Northern Ireland Gold Proof, Silver Proof and Silver Piedfort editions released (1 September 2014, archived copy), The Royal Mint, via the Internet Archive (read 9 Oct 2026)
- 2014 One Pound, Check Your Change (read 9 Oct 2026)
- Round £1: N.I: Flax and Shamrock, Change Checker (read 9 Oct 2026)
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