The rare penny worth £72,000!

Do you ever pay attention to the pennies in your change? Well, you might want to take a closer look at your coppers in future, because one particular 1p coin could be worth an astonishing sum!

The 1933 George V Penny is one of the rarest and most sought-after coins in British numismatic history. Despite having a face value of just 1p, this elusive coin has fetched staggering prices at auction. In 2016, an example sold for an incredible £72,000! And its value has been climbing for years – with sales recorded at £40,000 in 2004 and £45,000 in 2006.

Why is this coin so rare?

During the 1930s, there was such an abundance of pennies already in circulation that no new ones needed to be struck, however a few were still produced for ceremonial purposes. According to the Royal Mint, no official records exist confirming how many 1933 pennies were struck, but seven are known to exist.

Of the known 1933 pennies, one is located in the Royal Mint Museum, one belongs to the British Museum, two are in private collections and one was placed under the foundations the Senate House of the University of London by King George. One was placed under the foundation stone of Church of St Cross in Leeds, but was stolen in 1970 during reconstruction, its whereabouts now unknown. To avoid further thefts, the coin placed under St Mary’s Church in Leeds was dug up and sold, however it’s thought the one underneath Senate House remains in place.

This makes the chances of finding a 1933 Penny in your change almost impossible. But don’t worry if you don’t have one in your collection, as there are plenty of other coins that could still be worth a small fortune…

Fetching a fortune

1983 2p

After the 2p coin design was changed in 1982 to read TWO PENCE instead of NEW PENCE, a few coins were mistakenly struck in 1983 using the old reverse die and therefore have the old inscription of NEW PENCE.

It’s not known how many of these coins made their way into circulation, but in 2024, one sold for a whopping £1,000!

Undated 20p

In 2008, the reverse of each denomination from 1p to £1 was redesigned by Matthew Dent to feature a different part of the Royal Arms Shield. The 20p had previously included the date on the reverse, but with the entire face of the coin now devoted to the new design, the Royal Mint produced a new die with the date on the obverse (Queen’s head) side.

However, when the new Royal Shield 20p coins were struck for circulation, the old die was accidentally used, meaning a batch was issued with no date on either side of the coin.

Back in 2008 when this ‘error’ was discovered, one lucky seller sold theirs for a colossal £7,100! Nowadays, an undated 20p fetches around £60 on the secondary market, which is still not a bad return on a 20p coin! 

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Proceed with caution

Before you get too excited, it’s important to remember that a coin’s condition plays a huge role in determining its value. Coins in perfect condition can be worth far more than their well-worn, damaged, and poor-condition counterparts, and sometimes a minor difference in grade translates to hundreds or even thousands in value!

So, next time you’re checking your change, take a closer look! Who knows? You might just discover a hidden gem worth more than you ever imagined!

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Kick start your Penny collection

Whether you’ve got a penny collection already or you’re just starting out, you can piece together a fascinating timeline showing the changing face of Her Majesty with the Queen Elizabeth II Portraits Penny Collecting Page.