The Bees and The Flowers: The Story of the 12-sided £1 Coin
- Romiley Coins
- Aug 20
- 4 min read
Updated: 5 days ago
THE FIRST 12 SIDED COIN
In 2016 the Royal Mint announced the first major change to the £1 coin since it replaced its bank note counter part in 1983. Due to concerns around counterfeiting it was deemed the round design was no longer safe and therefore a brand new bi-metallic 12-sided coin with enhanced security features was to enter circulation replacing the traditional 'round pound' coin.
The first 12-sided £1 coins were minted in 2016 but did not enter circulation until the following year, when the round pounds were withdrawn. The Flowers on the new coin represented the Four UK Nations, showcasing the English rose, the Welsh leek, the Scottish thistle and the Northern Irish shamrock, emerging from one stem within a royal coronet. The design was created by David Pearce who won a public design competition at the age of 15.
The Flowers coin was circulated in great quantities between 2017 and 2019 in order to replace the millions of round pound coins which had been withdrawn and therefore no longer considered legal tender. However, the demand for coins in general decreased during the COVID-19 pandemic and therefore production stalled, meaning mintage figures were significantly lower during this period (see table below)
MINTAGE FIGURES TABLE
Information from The Royal Mint, last updated October 2024
2016 Flowers £1 coin | 648,936,536 |
2017 Flowers £1 coin | 749,616,200 |
2018 Flowers £1 coin | 130,560,000 |
2019 Flowers £1 coin | 138,635,000 |
2020 Flowers £1 coin | 55,840,169 |
2021 Flowers £1 coin | 21,760,000 |
2022 Flowers £1 coin | 7,735,000 |
KING CHARLES BEES £1 COIN
Following the death of Queen Elizabeth II in September 2022, the £1 coin was updated once again to not only include a portrait of the new monarch but also a brand new reverse design, featuring two bees which formed part of the brand new Flora and Fauna definitive coin collection released in autumn 2023.
The new 2023 King Charles coins were released by the Royal Mint in uncirculated definitive sets and featured a small crown on the portrait side (known as a privy mark) to identify them as the first annual set of Carolean era and to distinguish them from those to be released into general circulation. However only two definitive King Charles coins from that year were circulated, the Atlantic Salmon 50p and the Bees £1.
In August 2024 it was revealed that the Atlantic Salmon had overtaken the 2009 Kew Gardens as the rarest 50p in circulation with a mintage figure of just 200,000 beating the previous 14 year record by 10,000. It was also revealed that 10 million Bees coins had been circulated which was an increase on the initial 3 million that was previously announced. Despite the 2023 mintage figures indicating that several of the other new definitive coins had been minted, including the Oak and Acorn Leaf 5p, these are yet to be circulated. Currently, there are approximately 24.7 billion coins in circulation across the UK, with King Charles III coins representing around 0.004% of the total.
In 2024 and 2025, the Royal Mint released annual definitive sets of the Flora and Fauna designs for collectors to buy in sealed presentation packs. In September 2025 the Royal Mint Annual Trading Report, confirmed that no 2024 coins had entered circulation.
NEW CIRCULATED COINS
In the meantime, it has been revealed that due to an increase in demand more £1 coins will enter circulation this year, and this will be both the Queen Elizabeth Flowers design and the King Charles bees design.
According to the Royal Mint a total of 30.855 million new £1 coins will be circulated in total, which includes 22.29 Queen Elizabeth coins (the final £1 coins with her portrait) and 7.565 million King Charles coins, of these only 170,000 will have the 2025 date.
Rebecca Morgan, director of commemorative coin at the Royal Mint, said: "As we release more of the King Charles III £1 coins into circulation alongside the final coins of Queen Elizabeth II, we're witnessing the physical representation of our monarchy's transition."
The 2022 coin is now the rarest Queen Elizabeth £1 coin currently in circulation and perhaps more significantly the 2025 Bees design has become the rarest circulated £1 in the UK. With more 2023 coins being circulated but no announcement yet in regards to the 2024 coin, it would appear this will now not be circulated and will only be available in uncirculated condition.
This is the second significant coin announcement in the last 12 months. With even less 2025 Bees coins to hunt for than 2023 Atlantic Salmons, collectors will certainly be excited by this development.
Shop our full King Charles range now via our website...
September 2025 Update
A Royal Mint announcement on social media confirmed that a further 8.84 million 2024 King Charles Bees £1 coins would be circulated to keep up with demand.
This is a significant increase on the initial mintage figure of 170,000, but not huge in Royal Mint terms. It is also still lower than the figure for 2023 King Charles Bees (c.10 million) and several other current circulating £1 coins. For context, there are approximately 749 million 2017 Nations of the Crown £1 coins in circulation.
The rarest circulating £1 coin is now the 2022 Nations of the Crown at approximately 7.7 million.
Market changes can often affect the number of 2025 coins entering general circulation and a final mintage figure will not be confirmed until next autumn.
Original Post: August 2025
Updated: September 2025
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