Obverse. Photo © Numista
  • 1 Pound 2013, KM# 1237, United Kingdom (Great Britain), Elizabeth II, Floral Emblems, English Oak and Rose
  • 1 Pound 2013, KM# 1237, United Kingdom (Great Britain), Elizabeth II, Floral Emblems, English Oak and Rose
Description

The Royal Mint have launched their new series of designs for the one pound coin, which includes a floral design together with symbols of nature reflecting the four constituent countries which comprise the United Kingdom. A new design for England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland will make up the set, with the design for England being the first coin in the series to be issued.

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·2013
IRB

Reverse

Floral emblems of England, an oak branch beneath a Tudor-inspired rose.

The oak is the national tree of England, representing strength and endurance. The Royal Oak and Oak Apple Day commemorate the escape of King Charles II from the grasps of the parliamentarians after his father's execution; he hid in an oak tree to avoid detection before making it safely into exile. The Major Oak is an 800- to 1000-year-old oak in Sherwood Forest, fabled as the principal hideout of Robin Hood.

The rose is the national flower of England, a usage dating back to the English civil wars of the fifteenth century (later called Wars of the Roses), in which a red rose represented the House of Lancaster, and a white rose represented the House of York. The Tudor dynasty created the Tudor rose, which united both the white and the red roses, a symbolism dramatized by Shakespeare in his play Richard III. The traditional ballad "The Rose of England" (Child 166) recounts the seizure of the crown by Earl of Richmond (who became Henry VII of England, the founder the Tudor dynasty), using the "red rose" as an allegory for Henry. The England national rugby union team and Rugby Football Union adopted the red rose as their symbol in 1871, and the rose has appeared on players' kit ever since.

Engraver: Timothy Noad

ONE POUND

Edge

Translation: An ornament and a safeguard

DECUS ET TUTAMEN

1 Pound

4th portrait

Floral Emblems
English Oak and Rose

Subscribe series
KM# 1237 Sp# J32
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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