1996 UK Coin £1 Silver Proof Piedfort Celtic Cross

It was decided that from 1984, British £1 coins would feature different reverse designs for each of the four parts of the United Kingdom.

All £1 coins dated 1996 feature on the reverse a Celtic cross symbolising Northern Ireland.

Northern Ireland Celtic Cross Design

According to the information published by the Royal Mint which accompanies the 1996 proof coin sets:-

• "Britain's premier circulating coin for 1996 honours Northern Ireland and is the third in a new series representing the four constituent parts of the united Kingdom.
  The intricate reverse design has been created by Norman Sillman who, in featuring an ornate Celtic-style cross, has reached deep into the history of Northern Ireland. The richly decorated cross provides the background to a representation of the famous Celtic collar found in 1896 by a ploughman at Broighter, County Londonderry. This beautiful Broighter collar, one of seven gold objects deposited by Irish Iron Age people about the first century BC, was probably an offering to the Irish sea-god Manannán mac Lir.
  At the centre of the design lies a pimpernel, the lovely yellow flower which flourishes around Lough Neagh, the great inland freshwater lake to which are linked five of Northern Ireland's six counties."

Edge

The edge is not only milled but also inscribed. The inscription in Latin reads:-
DECUS ET TUTAMEN
Which may be translated as "an ornament and a safeguard". This inscription dates back to the first machine-struck coins minted in 1662 and was a device to prevent "clipping", and was used on the first pound coin in 1983.

Llantrisant Mint Mark

On the milled edge of the coin is the Llantrisant mint mark - a cross crosslet. The shape of the cross alluding to Llantrisant, which translated from the Welsh means "Church or Parish of the Three Saints".

Read more about the pound coin in our blogs:

One Pound Coin Designs, The Complete Collection 1983 - 2017

Introducing the New 12 Sided One Pound Coin

One Pound Coin Specifications

Why Did They Make 2016 12 Sided £1 Coins?

What is a 2016 Twelve Sided New £1 Pound Coin Worth?

Piedfort Coins - Heavyweight Coin Collecting

The obverse bears the third portrait of The Queen, used from 1985 to 1997, by Raphael David Maklouf.

A representation of the Broighter collar over a Celtic cross with a pimpernel at its centre.
The design is the work of engraver Norman Sillman.