The rarest circulating UK £1 coins and how much they could be worth!
Since replacing the round pound in 2017, the 12-sided £1 coin has quickly become a collecting favourite. With the £1 coins issued each year having vastly different mintages and and the recent introduction of the first King Charles III £1, some £1 coins are much rarer than others.
Here’s a look at the Top 3 rarest 12-sided £1 coins in circulation right now, based on their mintage figures.
2022 Nations of the Crown £1
In August 2025, it was confirmed that the 2022 dated Nations of the Crown £1 has a circulating mintage of just 7,735,000 – making it the rarest £1 coin currently in circulation!
Whilst the 2022 Nations of the Crown £1 tops the chart as the rarest 12-sided £1, with over 7 million of these coins in circulation, collectors still stand a very good chance of finding one.
There are currently 7 different Queen Elizabeth II £1 coins in circulation, so the race is now on to track them all down in our change!
But how much is a 2022 Nations of the Crown £1 worth? Well, for those looking to get their hands on one on the secondary market, they’re currently selling for between £5.16 and £10.74 on eBay.
2025 King Charles III Bee £1
It was initially announced in August 2025 that just 170,000 2025 dated Bee £1 coins would enter circulation, which would have made it the rarest pound coin in circulation. However, just 1 month later, it was revealed that an additional 8,840,000 2025 Bee £1 coins would enter circulation, making it the second rarest 12-sided £1 coin with a total mintage of 9,010,000.
If you’re lucky enough to have found one in your change already – very well done!
Whilst many collectors will hold on to this coin and have it as the pride of their collection, some may wish to part with it. Should you chose to sell your 2025 Bee £1, the median selling price currently on eBay is around £12.90 – not a bad return on a £1 coin!
The best way to guarantee a 2025 Bee £1 for your collection in superior collector quality it of course to secure it in the 2025 Definitive Set, along with the other 7 new King Charles III definitive coins, from the 1p to the £2.
2023 King Charles III Bee £1
The first time we saw King Charles III on a UK £1 coin was in 2023 when the New UK Coinage was issued, revealing 8 new coinage designs from the 1p to the £2.
2.975 million 2023 Bee £1 coins entered circulation in August 2024, and due to the low mintage and it being the FIRST circulating King Charles III £1 – collectors rushed to find one in their change.
This low mintage initially made it hard for collectors to find one in the wild, however it was also announced in August 2025 that more 2023 Bee £1s would go into circulation, making the final mintage figure 10,030,000.
The median selling price for a 2023 Bee £1 as of August 2025 is around £5.65, but we expect this price to rise as more collectors start their King Charles III collections.
Honourable mention: The rarest round pounds
Of course, before the 12-sided £1, the round pound coins, which were in circulation from 1983 to 2016, had their own rarities.
Out of the 25 different round pound coin designs, the 2011 Edinburgh City £1 remains the rarest of them all, with just 935,000 entering circulation.
At just shy of 1 million, you might think this mintage doesn’t seem particularly low, however when compared to the Royal Arms £1 which has a total mintage of 623,304,510 across the years it was issued (1983, 1993, 2003 and 2008) – you’d have had to be incredibly lucky to find one in your change!
The Wales: Cardiff City £1 comes in second place with a mintage of 1,615,000 and the England: London City £1 is the third rarest with a mintage of 2,635,000. So the Capital City series is sure to be a popular ones with collectors looking for a rare gem!
While round pound coins are no longer legal tender and can’t be found in circulation, they’re still highly collectible, and the Edinburgh City £1 still regularly sells for more than £10 on the secondary market!
Why rarity matters for collectors
With over a billion £1 coins in circulation, only a handful of dates or designs truly stand out as rare finds. Low mintages like those of the 2025 Bee £1 or 2022 Nations of the Crown £1 mean collectors need to be quick to snag one, as they don’t turn up in change very often.
How to check your £1 coins
- Check the date – you’ll find it on the obverse alongside the monarch’s portrait, as well as the micro-engraving on the reverse.
- Compare mintages – Check our Mintage Charts to see where your coin ranks.
- Check recent sold prices – Use our 6 Point Guide to help value your coin.
Whether you’ve just spotted your first Bee £1 in your change or you’re building a date-run of 12-sided pounds, these are the top £1 coins to look out for.
Let us know which of these rare £1 coins you have in your collection!
Secure the 2022 Nations of the Crown £1 for your collection
Secure the 2022 Queen Elizabeth II Last Definitive Coin Set for your collection >>
Nothing rare about the King Charles £1 coins, 2023 or 2025, I have had loads of them, I have had so many that I just spend them now, just kept one of each year. The 2022 pound coin however I have only seen once and I have kept that one.
I cashed out on the bandit in my local pub and at first was fuming as it paid pound coins, but it spat out £120 of the 2025 bee coins in brilliant condition, so I may save them for a while, just incase .
I found the bee 2025 coin yesterday in my change
I have found a lot of the 2023 one I have found 4 of them and now found 2025 one so happy
I have a 1 pound 2025 bee coin.
Got 4 £1 coins in 1 day think I’d better do the lottery ???? 2 2022 ,a 2023 bee and a 2025 bee let u no if I win on the lottery
i think the 2025 Bee £1 is closer to 1.7 million not 170,000. Everyone seems to have bags of them i’ve got two full sealed bags, yet the Kew Gardens and Salmon with slightly higher mintage are very rarely seen, let alone people having bags full of them.
This mintage of 2025 coin at 170,000 being anounced by change checker information through there sources. Has cost me alot of money. This is really not fair on the general public. This is a disgrace to be informed that the mint are now releasing more 2025 and 2023 coins totally immoral.
Hi David, We’re sorry there’s been some confusion here – we can only go off of what The Royal Mint tell us about circulation figures. You will have seen that back in August they announced that 170,000 2025 Bee £1 coins had been released into active circulation, however since then, they have confirmed that another 8.84 million have been released, and we’ve added updates and updated our graphics and blogs to reflect this.
I hope that helps, Kate
Me too, Royal Mint the same. A dirty trick i’ve lost a fair bit! Thanks.
Sweat a got 5 Uncirculated 2023 no privy mark on any of my coins ????bee coins and 3 Uncirculated 2025 in capsules a kew gardens Uncirculated an atlantic salmon in a fancy case Uncirculated a lot more uncultured a no a guy that nows a guy if you no what a mean ????
So fortunate to have picked up 20 of the 2025 KC III bee pound coins today from my little post office. Happy bunny.
Got all three plus a definitive 2025 set from the mint.
2023 front the bank, 2025 from a photo shop and 2022 from a Weatherspoons.
Some people just dont check their change!!
I have had quite a few of the 2022 £1
And still getting the 2023 BEE £1 coin in my change
NO 2025 £1 BEE COIN????????
Iv just found one in my change . Well 2 one is 2023 and ones 2025 much do these go fur in price??
I have 12 of the 2025 bee collection and 12 of the 2023
I have 2 x Charles III Degra Rex F .D one pound coins
I have 5 2025 king charles £1 bee pound coins +12 2023 + 4 queen elizabeth 2022 coins +the 4 London Cardiff Edinburgh Belfast coins
I had a bee 1 2025 in change the utha nite i avtually thought it was a dud????????
I have (at least) one of every round pound issued, all from my change. I have the relevant Mint sets containing those that were not issued for circulation, 1999 and 2016, and the presentation ‘Last Round Pound’.
Struggling with the last few ‘new’ pounds, the latest in my collection is a 2022.
Iv got two 2017 coins
ebay sold about a million the figures are way out id guess, i’ve even got two full bags
mmmmm strange you’re not posting my comments. very strange
Hi Jim, sorry you haven’t seen your comment yet. All comments go through an approval process and as we’ve been away at Goodwood Revival, we’re just catching up!
Kind regards, Kate
i have i pound bee charlers2025
i have i pound bee charlers2025
Have any of the KCIII £1 Bee coins dated 2024 been released into general circulation? Are these only available in the 2024 BU annual sets? Why do Royal Mint release 10 million or thereabouts 2023 KCIII £1 Bee Coins and thgen hop to 2025 £1 Bee coins and only release 170000 of them. Could they just release more of the 2025 voins at a later date in the year?
Hi Michael, as far as we know, no 2024 dated KCIII Bee £1 coins have entered circulation yet, but we’ll find out for sure once the 2024 mintage figures are announced soon!
Kate
I got 2022 coin in change and 2023 from the post office.I got 7 of the 2025 coin from my local post office
Toby would you be happy to swap a 2023 for a 2025 Bee Pound Coin?
I finally caught a ’23 bee and just gained TWO 2022. As for the ’25, I don’t care.
Just got a 2025 bee in my change from the shop 🙂
I have 5 2022 £1 coins and 8 2023 bee coins also
4 2025 bee coin’s
there’s a million for sale on an auction site, i think Royal Mint missed a zero off that 170,000. I bought two bags just in case, but i don’t 100% believe the figures
I have 2022 1 pound and 4 of the bee 2023 1poundx4
No 2025 bees yet sadly
Thats a good start i got 10 2023 bees and 1 2025 bee