Obverse. Photo © Numista
  • 1 Pound 2014, KM# 1284, United Kingdom (Great Britain), Elizabeth II, Floral Emblems, Northern Irish Flax and Shamrock
  • 1 Pound 2014, KM# 1284, United Kingdom (Great Britain), Elizabeth II, Floral Emblems, Northern Irish Flax and Shamrock
  • 1 Pound 2014, KM# 1284, United Kingdom (Great Britain), Elizabeth II, Floral Emblems, Northern Irish Flax and Shamrock, Brilliant Uncirculated two-coin set
Description

In 2014 two new £1 coins – one for Northern Ireland and one for Scotland – completed a series of four that began in 2013 with coins for England and Wales. This series of £1 coin designs uses pairs of floral emblems to represent the United Kingdom and its four constituent countries. For the first time ever familiar floral emblems are paired together with other less well-known floral symbols in one reverse design.

Obverse

Fourth crowned portrait of HM Queen Elizabeth II facing right, wearing the Girls of Great Britain and Ireland tiara.

The Girls of Great Britain and Ireland tiara was a wedding present in 1947 from her grandmother, Queen Mary, who received it as a gift from the Girls of Great Britain and Ireland in 1893 on the occasion of her marriage to the Duke of York, later George V. Made by E. Wolfe & Co., it was purchased from Garrard & Co. by a committee organised by Lady Eve Greville. In 1914, Mary adapted the tiara to take 13 diamonds in place of the large oriental pearls surmounting the tiara. At first, Elizabeth wore the tiara without its base and pearls but the base was reattached in 1969. The Girls of Great Britain and Ireland Tiara is one of Elizabeth's most recognisable pieces of jewellery due to its widespread use on British banknotes and coinage.

ELIZABETH II DEI GRATIA REGINA FIDEI DEFENSATRIX means Elizabeth II, by the grace of God, Queen and Defender of the Faith.

Engraver: Ian Rank-Broadley

ELIZABETH·II·D·G REG·F·D·2014
IRB

Reverse

Floral emblems of Northern Ireland, the shamrock and flax together.

Flax (also known as common flax or linseed), Linum usitatissimum, is a member of the genus Linum in the family Linaceae. It is a food and fiber crop cultivated in cooler regions of the world. The textiles made from flax are known in the Western countries as linen, and traditionally used for bed sheets, underclothes, and table linen. The oil is known as linseed oil.

A shamrock is a young sprig of clover, used as a symbol of Ireland. Saint Patrick, Ireland's patron saint, is said to have used it as a metaphor for the Christian Holy Trinity. The name shamrock comes from Irish seamróg, which is the diminutive of the Irish word for clover (seamair) and means simply "little clover" or "young clover".

Engraver: Timothy Noad

ONE POUND

Edge

Translation: An ornament and a safeguard

DECUS ET TUTAMEN

1 Pound

4th portrait

Floral Emblems
Northern Irish Flax and Shamrock

Subscribe series
KM# 1284 Sp# J34
Characteristics
Type Commemorative Issue (Circulating)
Material Nickel Brass
Weight 9.5 g
Diameter 22.5 mm
Thickness 3.15 mm
Shape round
Alignment Medal
Mint
Royal Mint

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