Well, I was quite surprised when I found out how many people just had not realised that over the years the U.K. has been issuing One Pound Coins, there was any sort of order to things. Yes, people did realise when a new one appeared, but that's about it. The fact that some of the obverse sides (i.e. Not Head) have been repeated, and others have not, is not clear - also the fact that some of the issues are a lot more common than others.
So, here follows a listing of the releases to date, from 1983 when the pound coin first appeared (and the pound note began to vanish).
The 83 issue has been used 4 times (83, 93, 98 and 03). The 84 - 87 sequence was repeated 89 - 92. The 88 issue was used ONCE only. The 94 - 97 sequence was repeated 99 - 02.
NB - the new coin for a particular year does not normally start to appear until near the end of that year, and sometimes not until the start of the following year.
| 1983 | The First issued Pound Coin bears the Royal Coat of Arms on the obverse side. A large number of this coin was issued, and they are still relatively common. | pic ? |
| 1984 | The second coin bears the Scottish Thistle on the obverse side. This coin is also quite common. | pic ? |
| 1985 | Next comes a coin showing the Welsh Leek (as loved by Max Boyce ?). Also still fairly common. | pic ? |
| 1986 | Northern Ireland gets a look-in now, as the next coin illustrated the Flax Plant, which I understand is an emblem from Ulster. | pic ? |
| 1987 | England's turn now, as this year's coin illustates the Oak tree. This coin is significantly less common than the previous issues. | pic ? |
| 1988 | Back to a Royal theme, this coin illustrates the Royal Arms of H.M. The Queen. This coin has always been quite rare - in fact you may be lucky to see one. This emblem is the ONLY one prior to 2004 to have been used ONCE only! | pic ? |
| 1989 | This year sees the first repeat, of the 1984 Scottish Thistle. The Queen's head on the 'head' side has been updated, as have all subsequent repeats. | pic ? |
| 1990 | Another repeat - this time of the 1985 Welsh leek | pic ? |
| 1991 | Repeat of 1986 Flax plant (N. Ireland) emblem | pic ? |
| 1992 | Repeat of Oak tree emblem (England) as per 1987 | pic ? |
| 1993 | Repeat of Royal Coat of Arms (as per 1983) | pic ? |
| 1994 | Scottish Lion Rampant | pic ? |
| 1995 | Welsh Dragon | pic ? |
| 1996 | Celtic Cross (Northern Ireland ?) | pic ? |
| 1997 | Three Lions (King Richard Emblem) - similar to the Emblem presently used by the England Football team. | pic ? |
| 1998 | Royal Coat of Arms - as per 1993 (and 1983) | pic ? |
| 1999 | Scottish Lion Rampant - as per 1994 | pic ? |
| 2000 | Welsh Dragon - as per 1995 | pic ? |
| 2001 | Celtic Cross as per 1996 | pic ? |
| 2002 | Three Lions emblem as per 1997 | pic ? |
| 2003 | Royal Coat of Arms - as per 1998, 1993 and 1983 | pic ? |
| 2004 | Start of a new sequence? This coin shows the Forth Rail Bridge. | pic ? |
| 2005 | This coin shows the Severn Suspension Bridge. | pic ? |
Link to another page with related information: UK Coins