1999 Lion Rampant £1 Coin
The 1999 Lion Rampant £1 is a Royal Mint collector issue that was never released into circulation. Value band: small premium. Here is how to recognize it, what makes one worth more and what to check on yours.
- Year
- 1999
- Issued as
- Collector packs and sets only
- 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 1999 Lion Rampant £1 worth?
This design was never released into circulation. The Royal Mint sold it in brilliant uncirculated packs and annual sets, so almost every example is a collector piece. One found in change is still legal tender at 1 pound; out of its pack it brings a small premium at most, while a coin still sealed in its original packaging is what collectors want.
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 1999 Lion Rampant £1 rare?
- It is scarcer than most £1 coins. It was never issued into circulation, so most examples are in collector packs.
- How many 1999 Lion Rampant £1 coins were made?
- None were made for circulation. The Mint sold this design only in packs and sets.
- What is the 1999 Lion Rampant £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 1999 Lion Rampant £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 1999 Lion Rampant £1 was made
Like the 1998 coin before it, the 1999 Lion Rampant was never released into circulation. Scotland's turn in the rotation came round again and Norman Sillman's lion rampant was struck with the 1999 date, but only for collector sets. That makes 1998 and 1999 the two round pound dates in this run that were made purely for collectors. Anyone who has tried to build a full date set from change finds these two years missing.
The design had first appeared in 1994 with Raphael Maklouf's portrait. The 1999 version carries Ian Rank-Broadley's effigy, which arrived on UK coins the year before. So the 1999 coin is the only Lion Rampant pound with the Rank-Broadley portrait. With no circulation coins issued, the 1999 date was absent from the pocket change of the time, which is why many people who handled pounds every day for years have never seen one. The round pound itself stayed on its familiar specification: 22.5 mm across, 9.5 g in weight and struck in nickel-brass with a lettered edge.
How to recognize it
The reverse is Sillman's lion rampant, standing on its hind legs with forepaws raised, inside the double tressure flory counter-flory of the Scottish royal arms, with the words ONE POUND underneath. The obverse shows Rank-Broadley's portrait, with the Queen in a tiara, which separates it from the 1994 coin at a glance. The edge is lettered NEMO ME IMPUNE LACESSIT, "no one provokes me with impunity". If your Lion Rampant pound shows the diadem portrait, it is the 1994 circulation coin. A crisp 1999 set coin has bright fields and a sharp edge, with the lion's mane clearly detailed. The fleurs-de-lis around the border should each be clearly formed, not run together.
The other side carries Ian Rank-Broadley's portrait of Queen Elizabeth II, used from 1998 to 2015.
1999 Lion Rampant £1 by the numbers
No circulation mintage exists for the 1999 Lion Rampant £1 because none were released to banks. It was the only collector-only £1 coin design dated 1999.
No commemorative £1 coin dated 1999 was released for circulation, which is why so many people hunting change for new designs never see this one.
What to check on your 1999 Lion Rampant £1
- Read the edge. It should say NEMO ME IMPUNE LACESSIT; 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.
No 1999 Lion Rampant pounds were struck for circulation, so a genuine example came from a Royal Mint set. That makes the date a target for collectors completing their runs and one in good condition carries a collector premium. The best examples remain in their original sets. A loose coin that shows heavy wear could be a spent set coin, but treat it with care: with round pound fakes common by 2017, a worn 1999 deserves expert checking. Compare the edge, portrait and lion detail closely with a known genuine coin.
Mintage chart
Specifications
| Country | United Kingdom |
|---|---|
| Denomination | 1 pound |
| Issuer | Royal Mint |
| Year | 1999 |
| Circulation mintage | None (collector issue) |
| Composition | Nickel-brass (70% copper, 24.5% zinc, 5.5% nickel) |
| Weight | 9.5 g |
| Diameter | 22.5 mm |
| Shape | Round |
| Edge | Lettered: NEMO ME IMPUNE LACESSIT |
| Portrait | Rank-Broadley |
Frequently asked questions
Is the 1999 £1 coin rare?
It is scarce compared with ordinary round pounds because it was struck only for collector sets and none were issued for circulation. Genuine examples carry a collector premium, especially in their original packaging. Loose worn coins should be checked carefully.
How can you tell a 1999 Lion Rampant pound from a 1994 one?
Look at the portrait and the date. The 1994 coin has Maklouf's portrait of the Queen in a diadem, while the 1999 coin has Rank-Broadley's portrait with a tiara. Both share Norman Sillman's lion and the Scottish edge inscription.
Mintage figures: One pound (British coin) (Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0), compiled from Royal Mint figures. How we build these pages.