Coins of the pound sterling chronologically. All genuine UK coins are produced by the Royal Mint. The same coinage is used across the United Kingdom: unlike banknotes, local issues of coins are not produced for different parts of the UK. The pound coin until 2016 was produced in regional designs, but these circulate equally in all parts of the UK (see UK designs, below). Every year, newly minted coins are checked for size, weight, and composition at a Trial of the Pyx. Essentially the same procedure has been used since the 13th century. Assaying is now done by the Worshipful Company of Goldsmiths on behalf
Coins of the Republic of Ireland Occasional "fantasy" coins were minted in the next century but these were neither circulated nor legal tender. The Irish Free State decided soon after its foundation in the 1920s to design its own coins and banknotes. It was decided that the Irish currency would be pegged to the pound sterling. The Coinage Act, 1926 was passed as a legislative basis for the minting of coins for the state and these new coins commenced circulation on 12 December 1928. The decision was mainly for economic reasons because, in 1924, 98% of Irish exports went to Great Britain and Northern Ireland, while