1 Penny - Elizabeth II 1st portrait; without 'BRITT:OMN' 1954-1970

Weight

9.45 g

Diameter

30.8 mm

Thickness

1.6 mm

Material

Bronze

Shape

Round

Edge Type

Plain

Technique

Milled

Front design

Young laureate portrait of Queen Elizabeth II facing right, legend around.

Back design

Seated figure of Britannia right, with trident in left hand and shield bearing the Union flag in right, sea behind with lighthouse to left, denomination above and date in exergue.

Year of Minting

1954-1970

Queen

Elizabeth II ( 1952-2022 )

Mint location

Royal Mint (Tower Hill) , London, United Kingdom (1810-1975); Royal Mint , Llantrisant, United Kingdom (1968-date)

Mint mark

NA

Orientation

Medal alignment ↑↑

Inscriptions

Obverse: + ELIZABETH·II·DEI·GRATIA·REGINA·F:D: M · G · Reverse: ONE PENNY 1967

Context

1954 was the first year for coinage where the "BRITT: OMN" part of the legend was omitted but no pennies were issued for circulation, though dies had been prepared and a few trial strikes produced to test them. As no pennies were required for circulation the dies and the trial strikes were subsequently defaced and destroyed. A single coin seems to be the sole survivor from those few test strikes and was in fact retrieved from circulation sometime in the mid-1950s and sold to Spink & Son who later sold it to C. W. Peck. © Sovereign Rarities, 2024 The standard weight of these pieces was 48 to the pound or one third ounce avoirdupois (145.8 grains). In 1970 there were 7,353,600 coins dated 1967 minted in South Wales at Llantrisant. ( Royal Mint Annual Report 1968 Volume No.99 Image 36 - The Royal Mint Museum ) The 1970-dated proof strikes were issued as part of the 'Last Sterling' mint set which comprised half-crown to halfpenny and were produced over the course of several years: 01/04/71-31/03/72 = 69,763 01/04/72-31/03/73 = 586,554 01/04/73-31/03/74 = 74,293 01/04/74-31/03/75 = 19,814

Rarity

Common

Coin type

Standard circulation

In circulation

No

Demonetized

Yes

Marketplace listings

0