After entering and winning a nationwide competition from over 6.000 entries when he was just 15 years old, the pound design by David Pearce, a student from Queen Mary’s Grammar School in Walsall, was used on the reverse of the new £1 coin which was released into general circulation in the United Kingdom in 2017.
Key Facts
- David Pearce entered a competition launched in 2014 by Chancellor George Osborne, to create the new design for the reverse of the £1 coin.
- In March 2015, when he was just 15 years old, David Pearce was announced as the winner of the competition which had over 6,000 entries.
- David Pearce was 17 years old when his winning design on the new £1 coin was entered into general circulation in March 2017.
Royal Mint Competition
On 12th September 2014, following his earlier declaration in the 2014 Budget that the Royal Mint would be replacing the original round pound to improve currency security, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, George Osborne announced a nationwide competition to design the reverse of a new 12-sided £1 coin.
At just 15 years old, David Pearce, a student from Queen Mary's Grammar School in Walsall entered the competition, reportedly submitting his entry on the day of the deadline, just two hours before it closed.
From over 6,000 entries, the design submitted by David Pearce was announced as the winning design on 17th March 2015. Receiving a £10,000 prize, David Pearce was personally notified by Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne, who later unveiled the winning design in the Budget 2015 announcement.
The winning design by David Pearce was refined for technical use by professional coin artist David Lawrence and lettering expert Stephen Raw and was officially titled 'Nations of the Crown', featuring a floral arrangement representing the four nations of the United Kingdom.
- English Rose: Representing England.
- Welsh Leek: Representing Wales.
- Scottish Thistle: Representing Scotland.
- Shamrock: Representing Northern Ireland.
The four emblems are shown emerging from a single stem within a Royal Coronet and feature David Pearce's initials, 'DP', underneath the right side of the Royal Coronet.
The new dodecagon shaped or 12 sided coin using the design on the reverse of the £1 coin was released into general circulation in March 2017 when David Pearce was 17 years old, making him the youngest person to design a circulating coin in the United Kingdom.
