Belfast Pound Coin

Introducing the Belfast 1 Pound Coin

Since the release of the first round pound coin in 1983, the Royal Mint has created collections of 1 pound coins that celebrated the four countries of the United Kingdom. The Belfast 1 pound coin is part of the ‘City Series’ collection of 1 pound coins. The city is the capital of Northern Ireland. The name, ‘Belfast’ is taken from the Irish ‘Béal Feirste’ meaning ‘mouth of the Farset.’Since 2017, the Belfast 1 pound coin and all other round pound coins were taken out of circulation in favour of a harder to counterfeit 12-sided design. 

2010 Belfast 1 Pound Coin 

The Belfast 1 pound coin has the city’s round Coat of Arms badge featured above the badges of the other capital cities, London, Cardiff, and Edinburgh. The obverse side is designed by Stuart Devlin and features a lesser version of the Coat of Arms, containing the bell, point-down triangle, and a ship sailing to the left. The reverse side has the fourth crowned portrait of HM Queen Elizabeth II by Ian Rank-Broadley. 

The edge inscription contains the motto of Belfast: ’Pro Tanto Quid Retribuamus’, or ‘What shall we give in return for so much.’ 

Stuart Devlin spoke about designing his coin series, “Representing the four capital cities, in a way that brings them together was a challenge, not least because capital cities are so politically sensitive and emotive. However, I worked on the principle that the key is to find something that people identify with.”

(Caption: Belfast Coat of Arms)

How Much is the Belfast 1 Pound Coin Worth?

The Belfast 1 pound coin was minted 6,205,000 times. It’s a less common coin to find in your piggy bank or among coin swaps. The highest price paid for a single Belfast 1 pound coin, as of May 2019, was £15.00 for a Brilliant Uncirculated version. 

Other Versions of the 2010 Belfast 1 Pound Coin

The Royal Mint has released other versions of the Belfast 1 pound coin for more serious coin collectors. There’s the Brilliant Uncirculated coins (mintage 10,000), the Silver Proof (mintage of 20,000), Silver Proof Piedfort (mintage 5,000), and Gold Proof (mintage of 2,500).

Other Coins in the 1 Pound ‘City Series’

The ‘City Series’ is the Royal Mint’s sixth UK country series that spanned 2010 to 2011. The London 1 pound coin was released in 2010 after the Belfast 1 pound coin and in 2011, 1 pound coins featuring Cardiff and Edinburgh were then issued.