Add the third rarest One-Pound coin from the City Series to your collection with the 2010 London £1 coin, the first of the series to be minted.
Expect to pay an average of about £3.50 for this coin, according to confirmed sold values on eBay.
Is The London £1 Coin Rare?
Now that the old style of the one pound coins had officially ceased to be legal tender, many collectors are willing to pay good money to make sure they have the complete set. If you have found the “round pound” in your change that has been stashed away, it could be a rare one.
The 2010 London coin is considered to be the third rarest of the one pound City Series. The coin was released in 2010 as the second of the new “City Series” created by the Royal Mint.
The series highlighted the capital city of each of the four Home Nations that make up the United Kingdom with the London coin representing the capital city of England. The Welsh version features Cardiff as the city, for example.
The 2010 London coin has a 2,635,000 mintage with an estimated value of £3.50.
With a mintage of more than 2.6 million, the value of these coins is certainly not as high as some. If you’ve held onto one of these coins, you should be looking to sell it for about £3.50. Although, there are examples of particularly excellent condition coins fetching up to £5.
Additionally, the coin was issued in a Brilliant Uncirculated on a presentation card with 66,313 issued. This variety was also in mint sets of 2010 United Kingdom Brilliant Uncirculated Coin Collection with 12 coins included.
Some were packaged as a Baby Gift Set. There was also a two-coin set with the Belfast one pound. The other sets included the 2010 United Kingdom Brilliant Uncirculated Coin collection that included 12 coins with a Baby Gift Set variety. This variety was also issued in The 2010 UK Cities one pound Brilliant Uncirculated Coins with 2 coins in the set.
Another variety was a Proof FDC as well as in sets that included:
- 2010 United Kingdom Standard Proof Coin Set with 13 coins
- 2010 United Kingdom Deluxe Proof Coin Set in black leather case
- 2010 United Kingdom Executive Proof Coin Set
- Also in The 2010 UK Proof Coin Set with a mintage of 30,844 including 13 coins as well as in a Deluxe and an Executive Proof Coin set with a mintage unknown.
Additionally, the London City Series coin was issued in a Silver Proof FDC variety with 7,693 issued in 0.925 Silver, 9.50g sterling silver 0.2825 ASW, 22.50mm, also in sets of The 2010 UK Silver Proof Coin Set with 13 coins and The UK Silver Celebration Set 2010 with 5 coins.
Another variety was the Silver Proof Piedfort in 0.925 Sterling Silver, 19.00g, 0.5650 oz. ASW, 22.5mm with 3,682 issued. This was also issued in The UK Silver Piedfort Set 2010 with an unknown mintage limited to 2,500 and included 5 coins in the set.
A Gold Proof FDC in 0.917 22-carat gold, 19.61g, 22.50mm, 0.5779 AGW was issued with 950 coins.
Design Of The 2010 London £1 Coin
The reverse was designed by Stuart Devlin who designed all the City Series coins. It focuses primarily on highlighting the City of London. London is the most populated city in the United Kingdom.
The image is the depiction of the official badge of London. It is a shield featuring St. George’s cross and a sword in the upper left quadrant. The name LONDON is centred and arched at the top, and the denomination ONE POUND is on the left and right of the image. The three flags of the other capital cities of Cardiff, Belfast, and Edinburgh are seen in circles below the image.
The flag of the City of London is the simplest of all the capital cities in the City Series. But, it is still a proud representation of the iconic tourist hotspot. The design is based on the flag of England with St. George’s Cross in the centre, but the difference lies in the added sword that sits in the top left quarter of the flag. The sword is said to represent that which was used to behead the patron saint of the city, Saint Paul, in 64AD. Unique to this flag is that the sword must always be pointing upward.
The edge inscription is the motto of the arms and reads DOMINE BIRIGE NOS, translated this means “Lord, deliver us”. The flags of Wales, Belfast, and Scotland are featured below that of London.
The 2010 London coins were part of the round £1 coins. The British one pound coin is a denomination of the pound sterling. The original one pound coin replaced the Bank of England one pound note that was no longer issued after 1984 but was not removed from circulation until March 11, 1988. The coin is made in Nickel-brass.
After 2017, the older one pound coins could only be redeemed at banks. For a limited time, some retailers would also accept them. Although, they remained in use in the Isle of Man.
The 2010 London £1 coin is 22.50 millimetres in diameter and weighs 9.50 grams in Nickel-brass alloy with a thickness of 3.15 mm. It is made of copper, zinc, and metal. The one pound Round series of coins were the only UK coins to have this specific yellow colour.
The obverse of the 2010 London coin is the design of Ian Rank-Broadley. He depicted Her Majesty wearing the “Girls of Great Britain and Ireland” diamond tiara, a wedding gift from Queen Mary, her grandmother, in 1947. The inscription surrounding her portrait reads ELIZABETH II D.G. REG.F.D. followed by the minting year. Translated, the inscription means Elizabeth II, by the grace of God, Queen, Defender of the Faith. The designer’s initials IRB are under the neckline of her image.
What Does The London £1 Represent?
The design represents London as the capital city of England and represents the United Kingdom as a whole. Initially, England was represented by the Oak Tree and Diadem type of £1 coins, then by the Three Lions One Pound, and the 2007 Millennium Bridge One Pound.
In 2010, there was a new £1 coin series launched that focused on the four capital cities of the UK known as the City Series. It was the first time that two coins were released the same year that represented the same home country in a one pound coin series. The two 2010 one pound coins represented London and Belfast.
This coin represented England. England was later represented by the 2013 One Pound with the floral emblem of England.