The last ever round £1 coins are rolling off the Royal Mint press this month before the iconic design is replaced by a new-look coin.
The round pound has traditionally celebrated all four countries of the United Kingdom, by depicting English, Northern Irish, Scottish and Welsh landmarks in turn.
More than 2.2billion £1 coins have been created since the design was launched in 1983.
Royal Mint coin press setter, John Jones, who was working in the Circulating Coin Production team at the time of the launch, recalled: “We were really proud when we got the £1 business. It was a feather in our caps to be striking it. Prince Charles came to strike the first one, and we all lined up to watch him arrive.”
Our round £1 coins will begin disappearing in 2017, as they are withdrawn from circulation. Instead we’ll discover 12-sided coins in our change.
Royal Mint
This new design has better protections against counterfeiters, but its unusual shape harks back to an older coin - the pre-decimalisation ‘threepenny bit’.
Are you a fan of the new-look pound coin?
Have your say in the comments section below