Rare 1p Coins
The government has ruled out scrapping 1p and 2p coins, despite launching a consultation into the use of cash. And if you’re among the 60% of people who immediately save, lose or even throw out pennies you receive, think again – these small coins can be worth more than you think.
- The designs for the 1p, 2p, 5p, 10p, 20p and 50p coins depict sections of the Royal Shield that form much of the whole shield when placed together. The entire shield was featured on the now-obsolete round £1 coin. The 1p coin depicts the left section between the first and third quarter of the shield, representing England and Northern Ireland.
- A RARE 1p coin is worth a massive 5,000 times its value – and it could be hiding in your wallet.
It is estimated that 60% of copper coins are only spent once, before being removed from the cash cycle, as they are saved or binned. Approximately 8% of 1p coins are estimated to be thrown away entirely, requiring the annual minting of new 1p and 2p coins with a face value of £500m to replace coins falling out of circulation. How to spot a rare 1p or 2p coin Unlike other coins, the design of the 1p and 2p coins haven’t changed much over the years. However, there are still rare finds that could interest collectors. One of the most valuable 1p coins ever sold was the 1933 ‘old penny’, which in 2016 fetched £72,000 at auction.
Launched on Tuesday, the government’s consultation will consider the mix of denominations in circulation, with a particular focus on whether pennies and £50 notes are still being used effectively by the public.
Which? looks at the debate over pennies and £50 notes, and highlights the rarest and most valuable among these denominations.
Could 1p and 2p coins be scrapped?
During the Spring Statement, the Chancellor of the Exchequer announced a consultation into the use of cash and digital payments in the UK market, including whether little-used denominations – including pennies and £50 notes – are meeting the public’s needs.
Six in 10 penny coins are used once in a transaction before ‘leaving the cash cycle’ – meaning they’re saved or lost, according to the consultation paper. In 8% of cases, the coins are simply thrown in the bin. To compensate, the Royal Mint produces around 500m new pennies each year.
Yet charities warn that smaller organisations rely on pennies for collection buckets and coin drives, and many pensioners still deal primarily in cash.
Less than 24 hours after the consultation was announced, Downing Street confirmed it had no plans to axe 1p and 2p pieces.
Commons leader Andrea Leadsom said in response to a question: ‘I think it’s safe to say that the penny has dropped: we’ve considered change, we know we like change, so we think we will probably keep change and have no change.’
While scrapping the penny is off the table in Britain, other countries around the world have previously taken this step – Australia withdrew its one- and two-cent coins from circulation in 1992, while Canada did so in 2013.
- Find out more: Spring Statement 2018: everything you need to know
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.
In 1933, the Royal Mint had such a large stockpile of pennies that it wasn’t necessary to mint more. Less than 10 pennies were struck with the 1933 date, with the majority going to Royal Mint records or buried under new buildings as part of a tradition.
With such a small mintage, this coin is unlikely to turn up in your spare change.
A more common find is the 1971 ‘new penny’. These coins are from the first run after decimalisation was introduced, when Britain switched its standard to 100 pennies in the pound.
A 1971 penny could fetch a premium, with one recently selling for £5.99 on eBay. But be wary – while others are listed at up to £75, there is no guarantee that anyone would pay this amount.
You should also be on alert for misleading claims by coin traders, a Which? investigation revealed, with some companies encouraging misconceptions about which coins are considered investments.
- Find out more: the dark side of the coin investment craze
Rarest 2p coins
Much like 1ps, the design of 2p coins has been largely the same over the years. Still, it’s worth taking a second look at older 2p coins.
From 1982 onwards, coins were stamped with ‘two pence’ instead of ‘new pence’. But a minting error in 1983 meant some coins were accidentally stamped with the old-style wording – creating an ‘error’ or ‘mule’ coin.
If you find a 1983 2p stamped with ‘new pence’, it could be worth a hefty premium.
A set of uncirculated 1983 coins containing the mule 2p recently sold on eBay for £1,370.
But it’s worth keeping in mind that coins lose value once they’ve been in circulation. A circulated 1983 1p error coin recently sold for £25 – significantly less than the coins in ‘mint condition’, though still a tidy profit on its face value.
- Find out more: the rarest and most valuable coins and notes in circulation
Rare 1p 2p Coins
Rare 50p coins
While pennies are in the headlines at the moment, the most collectible coins tend to be 50ps.
Coin enthusiasts know to keep an eye out for the Kew Gardens 50p. With just 210,000 in circulation, each of these can sell for over £150.
Another highly sought-after release is the Sir Isaac Newton 50p, but you won’t find it in your spare change. This coin is only available from the Royal Mint Experience in Llantrisant, Wales – and you’ll need to strike it yourself.
Currently these coins are selling for around £40 on eBay.
The Royal Mint has also released a series of Beatrix Potter 50p coins, that have proven popular among collectors and Peter Rabbit fans.
Will £50 notes be withdrawn?
The future of £50 notes is currently uncertain.
Rare 1p Coins Ebay
The consultation identified the fifty as a currency that’s rarely used in transactions, and associated by the public with money laundering and tax evasion. Asked about the future of a £50 note, a Downing Street spokesperson said considerations were still underway.
In recent years, £5 and £10 notes have been replaced with polymer designs – and an updated £20 note is due in 2020. By contrast, there are no plans underway to update the £50 note, with the Bank of England saying it will make a decision ‘in due course’.
Rare £50 notes
For collectors, the value of banknotes often comes down to the serial number.
Many collectors seek out the first notes in a series – indicated by a serial number starting with AA01.
The lower the number, the higher the value of the note. Most notes with serial numbers below 30 are presented to dignitaries, and any number lower than 200 is likely to be in high demand.
In 2012, auction house Spink sold a £50 note with the serial number AA01 000200 for £220.
Image courtesy of Spink
Other collectors are willing to pay a premium for the first or last note series signed by a chief cashier. Alternatively, certain sequences of numbers – for example 12345 – can also attract collector interest.
- Find out more: how to spot a valuable note
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.
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!
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
– Collect and track the coins they have
– Swap their spare coins with other Change Checkers
Rare 1p Coin Rugby Ball
Sign up today at: www.changechecker.org/app