2011 Edinburgh £1 Coin
The 2011 Edinburgh £1 is a circulating £1 coin with 935,000 made. Value band: collector premium. Here is how to recognize it, what makes one worth more and what to check on yours.
- Year
- 2011
- Circulation mintage
- 935,000
- Value band
- Collector 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 Edinburgh £1 worth?
With 935,000 struck for circulation, the 2011 Edinburgh £1 ranks as the lowest mintage of the 41 circulating £1 coins we track. Collectors pay a collector premium even for worn examples. Sharp, uncirculated coins with no marks bring considerably more.
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 Edinburgh £1 rare?
- Yes, by the standards of £1 coins. With 935,000 struck for circulation, the 2011 Edinburgh £1 ranks as the lowest mintage of the 41 circulating £1 coins we track.
- How many 2011 Edinburgh £1 coins were made?
- 935,000 were struck for circulation.
- What is the 2011 Edinburgh £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 Edinburgh £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 Edinburgh £1 was made
Edinburgh has been Scotland's capital for centuries and, since 1999, home to the Scottish Parliament. Its castle, perched on an extinct volcanic rock above the old town, is one of the most recognizable sights in Britain. Fittingly, that castle on its rock is the main charge on the city's coat of arms. The motto beneath it is taken from Psalm 127, a reminder of the city's long religious history.
The Edinburgh pound completed Stuart Devlin's capital cities series in 2011, released in the same year as Cardiff. Only 935,000 were struck for circulation, making it the lowest mintage of any circulating round pound. Nothing about its release hinted at that. The coins entered change like any other. For years most people had no idea they had handled a scarce coin. That changed as collectors compared mintage figures and as the round pound's withdrawal approached in 2017. Since then the Edinburgh pound has been the coin everyone hopes to find in an old jar of change. It remains the key to any round pound collection.
How to recognize it
Stuart Devlin's design shows the coat of arms of Edinburgh, with its castle on a rock as the main feature. The edge is unique to this coin and reads NISI DOMINUS FRUSTRA. The Latin means 'Except the Lord, in vain', a shortened line from Psalm 127 that runs 'Except the Lord build the house, they labor in vain that build it'. The obverse carries Ian Rank-Broadley's portrait of the Queen with the date 2011. If the edge reads NEMO ME IMPUNE LACESSIT, the Scottish motto used on other round pounds, the coin does not match and you should be suspicious.
The other side carries Ian Rank-Broadley's portrait of Queen Elizabeth II, used from 1998 to 2015.
2011 Edinburgh £1 by the numbers
Measured by how many were made, the 2011 Edinburgh £1 is the lowest of 41 circulating £1 coins with a published mintage. The next more common is the 2011 Cardiff £1 (1.61 million).
2011 brought 2 other circulating £1 coin designs: the Cardiff (1.61 million) and the Shield of the Royal Arms (25.4 million). The 2011 Edinburgh £1 was the scarcest of the year.
Within the 2010 to 2011 capital cities pounds, it ranks 1st scarcest.
What to check on your 2011 Edinburgh £1
- Read the edge. It should say NISI DOMINUS FRUSTRA; 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.
With just 935,000 struck, Edinburgh is the scarcest circulating round pound and carries a collector premium even when worn. Clean, unworn coins are the most wanted. Brilliant uncirculated examples came in Royal Mint packs and the 2011 annual set. They show smooth fields that loose coins lack. Because it is the coin collectors want most, check any example carefully. Compare the castle detail and the edge lettering with a confirmed genuine coin. Weigh it if you can: a round pound should be about 9.5 g. Look for an even golden color with no gray or brassy patches.
Mintage chart
Specifications
| Country | United Kingdom |
|---|---|
| Denomination | 1 pound |
| Issuer | Royal Mint |
| Year | 2011 |
| Circulation mintage | 935,000 |
| Composition | Nickel-brass (70% copper, 24.5% zinc, 5.5% nickel) |
| Weight | 9.5 g |
| Diameter | 22.5 mm |
| Shape | Round |
| Edge | Lettered: NISI DOMINUS FRUSTRA |
| 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 Cardiff £1 Coin | 1,615,000 | Small premium |
Frequently asked questions
Is the Edinburgh £1 the rarest round pound?
Among coins issued for circulation, yes. Only 935,000 Edinburgh pounds were struck in 2011, the lowest circulation mintage of any round £1. Collector-only issues such as the 2016 Last Round Pound were never put into change.
What does NISI DOMINUS FRUSTRA mean?
It is the motto of the city of Edinburgh and appears on the coin's edge. It means 'Except the Lord, in vain', a shortened line from Psalm 127, the psalm that begins 'Except the Lord build the house'.
Mintage figures: One pound (British coin) (Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0), compiled from Royal Mint figures. How we build these pages.