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The 1p was first issued in 1971 (although 1971 coins were actually made available earlier in blue folders to enable the public to become familiar with them). With the two pence, it is one of only two denominations that has been made to the same size specifications from decimalisation in 1971 right up to the present day.
Specifications are shown at the bottom of this page.
- Super-rare 1,000-year-old 1p coin depicting child king of Saxon Britain sells for £11,000 at auction after it was dug up by metal detectorists The coin is of Edward the Martyr, who ruled in 10th.
- Out of the four commonwealth £2 coins put into circulation to celebrate the 2002 commonwealth games, the Northern Ireland coin is considered the rarest. In fact, it’s probably the rarest £2 coin in circulation with only 485,500 minted. When put next to 417 million £2 coins in circulation, this makes it quite difficult to find.
- The rare coin is decorated on one side with the likeness of King George V and on the other with the female spirit Britannia. There were only seven 1p coins made in 1933 as the Royal Mint.
Out of the four commonwealth £2 coins put into circulation to celebrate the 2002 commonwealth games, the Northern Ireland coin is considered the rarest. In fact, it’s probably the rarest £2 coin in circulation with only 485,500 minted. When put next to 417 million £2 coins in circulation, this makes it quite difficult to find. Mar 18, 2018 What are the most valuable 1p coins? Unlike other coin denominations, the design of pennies tends to stay the same over the years, meaning there are fewer sought-after collector’s items. Even so, one of the most valuable coins ever sold is a 1p – the 1933 ‘old penny’, which in 2016 sold for £72,000 at auction.
Obverse Type 1, used 1971 – 1984 (bust design by Arnold Machin):
Reverse Type 1, used 1971 – 1981 (design by Christopher Ironside):
Edge: Plain.
The design:
A portcullis with chains, royally crowned. ‘NEW PENNY’ above, ‘1’ below.
Dates:
1971, Mintage 1,521,666,250.
1972, None for circulation, an unknown amount for annual proof sets only.
1973, Mintage 280,196,000.
1974, Mintage 330,892,000.
1975, Mintage 221,604,000.
1976, Mintage 300,160,000.
1977, Mintage 285,430,000.
1978, Mintage 292,770,000.
1979, Mintage 459,000,000.
1980, Mintage 416,304,000.
1981, Mintage 301,800,000.
Collectability/Scarcity: 1 for the high mintage coins, 2 for 1972 (for scale details see here)
Obverse Type 1, used 1971 – 1984 (bust design by Arnold Machin):
Reverse Type 2, used 1982 – 2008 (design by Christopher Ironside):
Edge: Plain.
The design:
A portcullis with chains, royally crowned. ‘ONE PENNY’ above, ‘1’ below.
Dates:
1982, Mintage 100,292,000.
1983, Mintage 243,002,000.
1984, Mintage 154,759,625.
Collectability/Scarcity (all): 1 (for scale details see here)
Obverse Type 2, used 1985 – 1997 (bust design by Raphael Maklouf):
Reverse Type 2, used 1982 – 2008 (design by Christopher Ironside):
Edge: Plain.
Dates:
1985, Mintage 200,605,245.
1986, Mintage 369,989,130.
1987, Mintage 499,946,000.
1988, Mintage 793,492,000.
1989, Mintage 658,142,000.
1990, Mintage 529,047,500.
1991, Mintage 206,457,600.
1992, Mintage 253,867,000 in plated steel, 78,421 in bronze*.
1993, Mintage 602,590,000.
1994, Mintage 843,834,000.
1995, Mintage 303,314,000.
1996, Mintage 723,840,060.
1997, Mintage 396,874,000.
Collectability/Scarcity: 1 for all with the high mintage numbers, 2 for the bronze 1992 (for scale details see here)
*In 1992 the metal composition was changed from bronze to copper-plated steel (which is magnetic). The coins that went into the annual sets used bronze blanks and all of the coins issued for circulation were made of copper plated steel.
There are also varieties of 1p coins concerning the rivets on the portcullis (click on the picture above for a larger version). It seems that for some years the coins in the BU sets (and proofs) were struck using different dies, resulting in two different types. There is more information here: http://www.predecimal.com/forum/topic/8211-portcullis-varieties-on-decimal-penny/
The following has been observed:
Rare 1p Coins Value
1971-1985*: All coins have left reverse with dot rivets.
1986: Circulation coins had the dot rivets, coin in sets had the right image circle rivets.
1987: All have the dot rivets.
1988, 1989 and 1990: Circulation coins have dot rivets, coins in sets have circle rivets.
1991: All coins have dot rivets.
1992: Circulation coins have circle rivets, coin in sets have dot rivets.
1993: Circulation coins have dot rivets, coins in sets have circle rivets.
1994-2006: All have circle rivets.
2007 & 2008: Circulation coins have dot rivets, coins in sets have circle rivets.
2008 and later: Coins no longer feature a portcullis design.
It is very likely that some of the coin types that were only released for general circulation are now harder to find in Uncirculated condition, and although they are not widely collected, they should probably be slightly higher on the Collectability scale.
*Earlier coins with ‘NEW PENCE’ (1971-1981) appear to have a different dot rivet reverse, which has a small gap between the 5 portcullis vertical bars and the top horizontal part below the crown. More research is needed!
Obverse Type 3, used 1998 – 2008 (bust design by Ian Rank-Broadley):
Reverse Type 2, used 1982 – 2008 (design by Christopher Ironside):
Edge: Plain.
Dates:
1998, Mintage 739,770,000*.
1999, Mintage 891,392,000*.
2000, Mintage 1,060,420,000.
2001 Mintage 928,698,000.
2002, Mintage 601,446,000.
2003, Mintage 539,436,000.
2004, Mintage 739,764,000.
2005 Mintage 536,318,000.
2006, Mintage 524,605,000.
2007, Mintage 548,002,000.
2008, Mintage 180,600,000.
Collectability/Scarcity (all): 1 (for scale details see here)
*In 1998 and 1999 bronze blanks were used for the 1p coins in proof sets. Circulation coins were made of copper plated steel (as normal).
Rare 1p Coins Price Guide
Obverse Type 4, used 2008 – 2015 (bust design by Ian Rank-Broadley):
Reverse Type 3, used 2008 onwards (design by Matthew Dent):
Edge: Plain.
The design:
The obverse is very similar to the previous but no longer has rim beads. The reverse is the lower left section of the Royal Coat of Arms of the United Kingdom.
Dates:
2008, Mintage 507,952,000.
2009, Mintage 556,412,800.
2010, Mintage 609,603,000.
2011 Mintage 431,004,000.
2012, Mintage 227,201,000.
2013, Mintage 260,800,000.
2014, Mintage 464,801,520.
2015, Mintage 154,600,000.
Obverse Type 5, used 2015 onwards (bust design by (Mr) Jody Clark):
Reverse Type 3, used 2008 onwards (design by Matthew Dent):
Edge: Plain.
Dates:
2015, Mintage 418,201,016.
2016, Mintage 368,482,000.
2017, Mintage 240,999,600.
2018, Mintage not yet known (what is known, is that none will appear in circulation, they can be found in sets only).
2019, Mintage not yet known.
Specifications for all current 1p coins:
Size: 20.32mm
Width: 1.52mm (bronze), 1.65mm (copper-plated steel)
Metal Composition 1971 – 1992: Bronze (97% copper, 2.5% zinc, 0.5% tin)
Metal Composition 1992 – date: Steel core plated with copper.
Weight: 3.56 grammes
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Which coins should you be looking out for in your change?
We’ve taken a look at the mintage figures for UK coins to find out which ones are the rarest in circulation...
What you might be surprised by is that on our top 10 list, just 1 out of the 10 coins is a 50p!
The rarest UK coin currently in circulation is the Kew Gardens 50p, but the 9 rarest coins after that are actually £2s.
Whilst 50p coins are very popular amongst collectors at the moment, it’s certainly worth noting that it is in fact the £2 coins which you should be keeping your eyes peeled for, as some of the ones you can find in your change are very rare.
Other rare coins to look out for
Of course, this doesn’t take into account the rare error coins that have been found in circulation, such as:
Whilst exact mintage figures for these error coins may be unknown, we can assume that they could each be rare enough to find themselves near the top of the list.
A-Z of Great Britain 10p coins
It’s also worth noting that whilst mintage figures for the individual designs haven’t been released, if we assume that each A-Z of Great Britain 10p has been struck in equal quantities, then there would be approximately 281,000 of each design.
Rare 1p Coins Ebay
This would put each A-Z 10p design in equal second place on the list of the top 10 rarest coins in circulation!
What about the coins no longer in circulation?
Currently the Kew Gardens 50p is the rarest coin in circulation, but did you know that it isn’t actually the UK’s rarest 50p?
This title goes to the 1992/93 UK EC Presidency 50p, with a mintage of just 109,000 – almost half of the Kew Gardens!
Rare 1p Coins Ebay
In 1997, 50p coins were redesigned in the smaller specification and this coin was demonetised, meaning it is no longer in circulation.
The same can be said of the 1989 Claim of Right £2, which was demonetized in 1997 when the bi-metallic £2 coin was introduced.
This coin has a mintage of381,400 which makes it the rarest UK £2 and would put it in second place on the list if it were still in circulation.
Are you lucky enough to have any of the top 10 rarest coins in your collection? Or perhaps you’ve even been lucky enough to get your hands on the pre-1997 coins listed above. Let us know in the comments below!
If you’re interested in coin collecting, our Change Checker web app is completely free to use and allows users to:
– Find and identify the coins in their pocket
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– Swap their spare coins with other Change Checkers
Rare 1p Coins 1994
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