H: It's a small brass-colored coin, about 7/8" in diameter, made of copper-zinc-nickel, current value about US $1.60. There are about 1.4
billion in circulation. It's quite thick, about an eighth-inch, with 'Decus et Tutamen' [
a decoration and a protection] impressed in the edge milling, a quote from Virgil, making forgery quite difficult. The Queen's head is on the face of all British coins, [changing as she gets older, she is now in her eighties, crowned 1953], the obverse designs change regularly. There's a two-pound and a five-pound coin too, brass with a nickel colored inner disc.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/One_pound_(British_coin)
http://www.google.co.uk/images?hl=e...=2&aq=f&aqi=g10&aql=&oq=
