Nations of the Crown Dual-Dated £1 (2016)
The dual-dated £1 is a 12-sided Nations of the Crown coin with 2016 on the heads side but 2017 in the tiny lettering around the rim of the reverse, the result of a mix-up of dies at the Royal Mint. People check their 12-sided coins dated 2016 because the error needs magnification to see and has been found in change. It is one of the 28 £1 designs struck since 1983.
Nations of the Crown Dual-Dated £1 value
- Circulated
- typical £1,450, range £300 to £2,500
Worked out from 2 published prices (1 price guide and 1 sold-price report), each condition from its own prices, checked in September 2026.
Everything depends on showing the coin is genuine. The 2017 micro-date must be clearly legible under magnification and the obverse must read 2016; a coin whose micro-lettering is worn or weakly struck holds little interest for collectors. Condition then counts as it does for any coin, with a crisp, unmarked example ahead of a worn one. Altered 12-sided pounds offered as unusual errors also turn up, so buyers want sharp close-up photographs of both dates before paying a premium.
Nations of the Crown Dual-Dated £1 mintage and rarity
No circulation mintage has been published for the Nations of the Crown Dual-Dated £1, so it has no rarity rank.
How to spot a Nations of the Crown Dual-Dated £1
Start with a 12-sided pound dated 2016 on the Queen's side. Then look just inside the rim on the flower side, where a tiny date runs round the coin in incuse micro-lettering. On an ordinary coin it reads 2016; on the dual-dated error it reads 2017. You will almost certainly need a strong magnifier or a microscope. A coin too worn or weakly struck to read the micro-date cannot be confirmed, and pictures of two separate coins shown together prove nothing.
Nations of the Crown Dual-Dated £1 design
When the 12-sided £1 was launched in spring 2017, coins dated 2016 and 2017 entered circulation side by side. On a small number of the 2016 coins, the dated obverse die was paired with a reverse die made for 2017, so the micro-lettering around the inside of the rim reads 2017 while the heads side says 2016. The Royal Mint confirmed the error in 2017 after it was reported. The reverse itself is David Pearce's Nations of the Crown, with the rose, leek, thistle and shamrock of the four nations springing from a single stem within a royal coronet, ONE POUND beneath and the designer's initials DP below the crown's right-hand side. The obverse carries Jody Clark's portrait of the Queen. The Royal Mint has never said how many were struck, and collectors reported finding examples in change in October 2018 and April 2019. The error is separate from the trial pieces with a 2016 obverse made for industry testing, which the Royal Mint said were not mules.
Nations of the Crown Dual-Dated £1 specifications
- Denomination
- £1
- Year
- 2016
- Type
- Error or mule
- Issue
- Issued for circulation
- Occasion
- A die pairing error: a 2016-dated obverse struck with a reverse die whose micro-lettering reads 2017
- Designer
- David Pearce
- Composition
- Bimetallic: nickel-brass outer ring, nickel-plated nickel-brass inner
- Weight
- 8.75 g
- Diameter
- 23.43 mm
- Shape
- Twelve-sided
- Edge
- Alternate milled and plain sections around the twelve sides
- Obverse
- Elizabeth II, fifth portrait by Jody Clark
Nations of the Crown Dual-Dated £1 questions
Did the Royal Mint confirm the dual-dated £1 error?
Yes. The Royal Mint confirmed in 2017 that a die mix-up had paired 2016 obverses with reverse dies carrying the 2017 micro-date.
How many dual-dated £1 coins are there?
No figure has been published, and the Royal Mint has not said how many were struck.
Is the dual-dated £1 the same as the 2016 trial pieces?
No. The Royal Mint made trial pieces with the 2016 obverse for industry testing and said they were not mules. The dual-dated coin is an error found in circulation, with 2017 in the reverse micro-lettering.