2011 Cardiff £1 Coin
The 2011 Cardiff £1 is a circulating £1 coin with 1.61 million made. Value band: small premium. Here is how to recognize it, what makes one worth more and what to check on yours.
- Year
- 2011
- Circulation mintage
- 1,615,000
- Value band
- Small premium
- Composition
- Nickel-brass (70% copper, 24.5% zinc, 5.5% nickel)
Original illustration of the coin's shape and metal. Tap to flip. Not a picture of the actual design.
Face value · Small premium · Collector premium · Significant rarity. We use bands because prices change daily.
What is a 2011 Cardiff £1 worth?
At 1.61 million, the 2011 Cardiff £1 has a smaller run than most £1 coins, so collectors pay a small premium for it, especially in uncirculated condition. Well circulated examples sit close to face value.
What would make yours worth more:
- Uncirculated condition with crisp edge lettering
- Original Royal Mint pack or set
- A genuine mint error confirmed by an expert
For market prices, look at recent sold results for the same coin in the same condition, not asking prices.
Quick answers
- Is the 2011 Cardiff £1 rare?
- It is scarcer than most £1 coins. Collectors pay a small premium for good examples.
- How many 2011 Cardiff £1 coins were made?
- 1,615,000 were struck for circulation.
- What is the 2011 Cardiff £1 made of?
- Nickel-brass (70% copper, 24.5% zinc, 5.5% nickel). It weighs 9.5 g and measures 22.5 mm.
- Is the 2011 Cardiff £1 still legal tender?
- No. The round pound stopped being legal tender on 15 October 2017. It can no longer be spent in shops; collectors still want the scarce dates.
Why the 2011 Cardiff £1 was made
Cardiff was made a city in 1905 and became the official capital of Wales in 1955. Its growth came from coal, shipped through its docks in such quantities that the port was once among the busiest in the world. Its civic arms bring together Welsh symbols. Its motto is in Welsh rather than Latin, which sets this coin apart from the other three capital cities pounds.
The Royal Mint issued the Cardiff pound in 2011 as the third coin in Stuart Devlin's capital cities series. Only 1,615,000 were struck for circulation. That is the second lowest mintage of any circulating round pound, with only its 2011 partner, Edinburgh, coming in lower. The coins went into change in the normal way and many were spent without a second glance. When the round pound was withdrawn in 2017 there was a rush of people checking their pounds for scarce designs. Cardiff was one of the coins they most hoped to find. It still turns up in old jars and drawers today.
How to recognize it
Stuart Devlin's reverse shows the coat of arms of Cardiff, which features the red dragon of Wales. To confirm it, read the edge. It should say Y DDRAIG GOCH DDYRY CYCHWYN, the Welsh motto of the city, usually translated as 'The red dragon leads the way'. The phrase was also the motto on the royal badge of Wales from 1953. On the other side is Ian Rank-Broadley's portrait of the Queen with the date 2011. A Cardiff reverse with DECUS ET TUTAMEN or PLEIDIOL WYF I'M GWLAD on its edge is not genuine, since neither was paired with this design.
The other side carries Ian Rank-Broadley's portrait of Queen Elizabeth II, used from 1998 to 2015.
2011 Cardiff £1 by the numbers
In mintage terms the 2011 Cardiff £1 ranks 2nd lowest of 41 circulating £1 coins with a published mintage. The next scarcer is the 2011 Edinburgh £1 (935,000); the next more common is the 2010 London £1 (2.63 million).
For scale, the most common is the 1983 Royal Arms £1 with 443.1 million, about 274 times as many. The scarcest is the 2011 Edinburgh £1 with 935,000, 1.7 times fewer than this one.
It was released in 2011 alongside 2 other circulating £1 coin designs: the Edinburgh (935,000) and the Shield of the Royal Arms (25.4 million). 1 of them had a smaller run.
Within the 2010 to 2011 capital cities pounds, it ranks 2nd scarcest, behind the Edinburgh.
What to check on your 2011 Cardiff £1
- Read the edge. It should say Y DDRAIG GOCH DDYRY CYCHWYN; an edge that doesn't match the design is the quickest sign of a fake.
- Turn the coin over on its vertical axis: on a genuine pound the design side is the same way up as the portrait. A tilted or upside-down reverse points to a copy.
- Weigh it: a genuine round pound weighs 9.5 g. Fakes are often light, soft in detail or a slightly different color.
- Remember that round pounds stopped being legal tender on 15 October 2017, so a common one has no use in shops.
At 1,615,000, Cardiff is one of the two key coins among circulating round pounds. Even worn examples attract a collector premium. Sharp, unmarked coins are wanted for sets. Brilliant uncirculated examples were sold in Royal Mint packs and the 2011 annual set. They are easy to tell from circulated coins by their unbroken original surface. Because it is sought after, check any Cardiff closely. The dragon should be crisp, the Welsh lettering on the edge even and clearly spaced. The reverse should sit upright when you turn the coin over side to side.
Mintage chart
Specifications
| Country | United Kingdom |
|---|---|
| Denomination | 1 pound |
| Issuer | Royal Mint |
| Year | 2011 |
| Circulation mintage | 1,615,000 |
| Composition | Nickel-brass (70% copper, 24.5% zinc, 5.5% nickel) |
| Weight | 9.5 g |
| Diameter | 22.5 mm |
| Shape | Round |
| Edge | Lettered: Y DDRAIG GOCH DDYRY CYCHWYN |
| Portrait | Rank-Broadley |
Other 2011 £1 coins
| Coin | Circulation mintage | Value band |
|---|---|---|
| 2011 Shield of the Royal Arms £1 Coin | 25,415,000 | Face value |
| 2011 Edinburgh £1 Coin | 935,000 | Collector premium |
Frequently asked questions
How rare is the Cardiff £1 coin?
It is one of the scarcest circulating round pounds. Only 1,615,000 were struck for circulation in 2011. Only the Edinburgh pound from the same year had a lower total. Collectors pay above face value for good examples.
What does the Welsh writing on the Cardiff pound edge mean?
The edge reads Y DDRAIG GOCH DDYRY CYCHWYN, the motto of Cardiff. It is usually translated as 'The red dragon leads the way'. It was also the motto on the royal badge of Wales from 1953.
Mintage figures: One pound (British coin) (Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0), compiled from Royal Mint figures. How we build these pages.