Penny

When Elizabeth I ascended the throne in 1558, she boldly set about improving the quality of England’s coinage following the debasement of silver under her father Henry VIII. Throughout her reign large quantities of silver coins were produced, the silver was often obtained from raiding Spanish ships. Many silver denominations were produced under Elizabeth’s reign, from the Rare Crowns and Halfcrowns, the mass produced shillings and sixpences, and the more unusual small denominations — groats, threepences, half-groats, three-halfpence, pennies, three-farthings, and halfpenny. These small denominations were very popular with merchants and small traders. Elizabethan pennies are very small, and are often found creased or bent. The obverse bears the legend E D G ROSA SINE SPINA — Elizabeth by the grace of God a rose without a thorn — around a left-facing bust of the queen, while the reverse bears the legend CIVITAS LONDON — City of London. We are delighted to offer you a very small group of Elizabeth I Pennies, they were minted at the Tower Mint in London. Each is in Very Good or Fine condition with a clear depiction of the Queen. These are fantastic little coins, each is at least 420 years old, struck in Sterling Silver and bears the portrait of Elizabeth I.

The pre-decimal coinage of Queen Elizabeth II dated 1964 has always been difficult to get. Here we offer the 1964 Penny in Unc. Supplies are limited in for a number of coins.

In 1806 the Soho Mint made the first copper pennies struck on a steam driven press. This design was struck for only two years 1806 and 1807. It had King George III as a Roman Emperor on one side and Britannia seated on the other side. These were the first copper coins to be struck as we know them today. Only struck for two years and available in two different grades Fine and Very Fine. They are now over 200 years old and the first of their type to be made.

Uncirculated with traces of lustre.

Most people associate 1912 with the sinking of the unsinkable ship The Titanic but, as numismatists, we think of it as the year the Royal Mint couldn’t produce all the Pennies they needed and had to get an outside firm to help them. That firm was the Heaton Mint Ltd. in Birmingham. So if you look at a 1912 Penny to the left of the date and slightly upward you may well see an ‘H’ mintmark. This was the mintmark for the Heaton Mint. We have made up this pair of 1912 and 1912 H Pennies in a plastic flip-type envelope, so you can see both pennies at the same time. The coins are in selected circulated condition which, considering that they are now 110 years old, is quite good condition. Show them to your friends and ask if they can spot the difference. If they can’t, then you can show them the ‘H’ and explain what else happened.

It is strange but true; the Royal Mint did not strike a lot of the bronze coins that were issued in this country. In fact, at one point they were using two private mints to strike coins for them. The Heaton Mint which has a mintmark ‘H’ as on this coin and the Kings Norton Mint which used a ‘KN’ mintmark. Interestingly enough, both private mints have gone out of business. This Penny is dated 1918, which was during World War I and we guess the Royal Mint had too many other things on its plate. The mintmark is below Britannia to the left of the date. The coins on offer are in Fine condition and are rather difficult to find these days. The Royal Mint didn’t strike this 1918 Penny but the Mint Birmingham Ltd did. Why not add one to your collection?

1918 Kings Norton Penny in Fine. In the reign of King George V the Royal Mint ran out of capacity to strike enough coins for everyday usage, so they contracted out the minting of some Pennies. One of the two Mints they used was the Kings Norton Mint, unlike the Birmingham Mint, the Kings Norton Mint had never struck coins for them before. They only made pennies for the Mint in 1918 and 1919 and all of these coins carry the ‘KN’ mint mark by the left of the date. Of the two mints, the Kings Norton is by far the most difficult to get.

In the reign of King George V there were 2 different types of 1926 Pennies. The first type which this one is, and it’s the one you can afford. The second or modified bust is very rare and thus very expensive. You have the bust of George V on one side and a seated Britannia on the other side. The coins are in selected circulated condition, now 95 years old and the only 1926 Penny that you will ever be able to buy for your collection. Supplies are very limited.

In 1935 King George V reached his Silver Jubilee (1910-1935), a feat that not all that many of our Monarchs had or would reach. A handsome Penny featuring the bare head portrait of the King was issued for that year. We have a nice group of these 1935 Pennies on offer, but supplies are limited. We have two grades: Uncirculated - Brilliant Uncirculated and Uncirculated condition. The coins are handsome and the next year King George V would die, causing great problems with his successor.

In 1935 King George V reached his Silver Jubilee (1910-1935), a feat that not all that many of our Monarchs had or would reach. A handsome Penny featuring the bare head portrait of the King was issued for that year. We have a nice group of these 1935 Pennies on offer, but supplies are limited. Grade offered is Uncirculated. The coins are handsome, and they were issued just a year before the death of King George V, which brought about great problems with royal succession.

1936 was the year that Great Britain had three different Kings, George V, Edward VIII, and George VI. This is the old large-size penny that was struck in 1936 and they are in Brilliant Uncirculated condition. They are about as nice as you will ever see them. Most of the coins were struck while Edward VIII was King but all the coins carried the portrait of King George V. New coins were not issued until after the new Monarch’s Coronation. These coins are in beautiful condition and come with a fascinating history, get them while you can.

George V, 1910-1936, Penny, 1936. Uncirculated-Brilliant Uncirculated

Date set of Pennies struck at the Royal Mint between 1911 and 1936 including 1912H penny for FREE, that's 27 coins in total.

This is the 1919 H Penny, the last to be struck outside the Mint. It was struck by the Heaton Mint in Birmingham, that is why it carries the H mint mark. These are nice coins, used but better than average for a coin that is now over 90 years old. Add one to your collection and your folder will be closer to filling up…

These are not the actual coins that sailed on The Titanic, as most of those are all at the bottom of the ocean, but rather two coins that were issued in 1912 and could have been used by people who sailed on The Titanic. The two coins are the Sterling Silver Threepence and the bronze Penny of 1912. They were both issued under King George V, who had been King for just 2 years at the time. Both coins are in Very Good condition and you get both 1912 (Year of the Titanic Disaster) coins for a very reasonable price.

1D (1 Penny) from the reign of George VI, minted in 1937 and in uncirculated condition.

Bronze penny featuring King George VI from 1949; condition is between uncirculated & brilliant uncirculated

The two lowest mintages of the old Penny coin were struck in 1950 and 1951 during the reign of King George VI. In 1950 they only made 240,000 coins that means for £1000 you could have bought all the 1950 Pennies they ever made. Until very recently numismatists have always thought that all the 1950 Pennies were shipped to Bermuda for use after World War II. Now we know that this information is wrong. They were also sent to the Bahamas in the West Indies. Now, these coins were actually used in circulation, because after the War there was a great shortage of small change. The island has a very salty atmosphere and thus the coins are very scarce in the higher grades. The coins on offer are in Very Fine condition and remember they only struck a total of 240,000 1950 Pennies for circulation.

George VI, Penny 1937 - Brilliant Uncirculated

We believe the bronze coins of King George VI are much underappreciated. The farthings are easy to get, but try and get nice Pennies and Halfpennies. Here we are offering a George VI Penny from 1937 in between uncirculated and brilliant uncirculated condition.

Unlike the smaller denominations, the classic penny design featuring a seated Britannia, first introduced in 1860 and would continue throughout George VI’s reign. The Penny presented here is a 1937-48 Penny in Brilliant Unirculated condition. Dates will be of our choice.

Unlike the smaller denominations, the classic penny design featuring a seated Britannia, first introduced in 1860 and would continue throughout George VI’s reign. The Penny presented here is a 1937-48 Penny in Unirculated condition. Dates will be of our choice.

We think the bronze coins of King George VI are much underappreciated. The farthings are easy to get, but it's much more difficult to obtain nice Pennies and Halfpennies.

We believe the bronze coins of King George VI are much underappreciated. The farthings are easy to get, but try and get nice Pennies and Halfpennies. Here we are offering a George VI Penny from 1938 in between uncirculated & brilliant uncirculated condition.

We believe the bronze coins of King George VI are much underappreciated. The farthings are easy to get, but try and get nice Pennies and Halfpennies. Here we are offering a George VI Penny from 1947 in uncirculated condition.