Penny

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.