Values of Coins of England and Great Britain

('Coins of the UK')

by Tony Clayton

Main Values Index

This is the Index to a series of pages listing the current retail values of Milled Coins used in the United Kingdom. The hammered series is far too complex to give detailed listings of values (the milled series is bad enough!). It is stressed that the prices quoted are a guide only, and in UK pounds (1 UK pound was about US$1.40 or 1.20 euro on 11th March 2021). Although every effort has been made to ensure that they have been copied correctly, I take no responsibility for their accuracy, nor for the consequences of any decisions others might make based on this information.

In the index below the version number of the page is given, followed by the edition of Coin News (or Coin Yearbook) from which most of the price information was obtained. Updates are carried out when time permits, a bigger problem for me these days. Except in the case of EF or Unc specimens, values do not rise a great deal.

I am extremely grateful to Token Publishing Ltd of Exeter, Devon for permission to reproduce this copyright material.

Where Coin News describes a coin as extremely rare, an estimate of the value has been made in a few cases. However, it is not normally possible to give an estimate for these coins as the coins concerned are so rare that true value can only be tested at an Auction.

Index to Coin Value Pages by Denomination

Denomination	Version	Coin News Edition	Date of last update
Fractional Farthings	v40	12/22	19/01/24
The Farthing	v39	12/22	20/01/24
The Halfpenny	v40	01/23	19/01/24
Three Farthings	v24	nva	23/03/15
The Silver (Maundy) Penny	v12	05/18	23/06/19
The Copper/Bronze Penny	v48	02/23	12/08/24
The Penny-Halfpenny	v37	03/21	08/03/22
The Two Pence	v44	05/18 & 04/19	07/08/20
Three Pence	v45	03/24 & 03/21	24/08/24
Four Pence (Maundy and Britannia)	v44	03/24 & 04/21	24/08/24
The Sixpence	v38	04/21	11/06/21
The Shilling	v43	06/19	18/06/19
18 and 20 Pence	v24	CYB07	23/03/15
Two Shillings - Florin	v48	06/23	24/10/23
Thirty Pence - Half Crown	v55	07/21	25/08/21
Three Shillings, 40d and 45d	v26	CYB 98	23/03/15
Four Shillings (Double Florin), 50d and 4s6d	v32	11/11	23/03/15
5s (Crown), 5s3d (Quarter Guinea) and 5s6d	v55	08/21 & 11/21	08/03/22
Six Shillings and 6s8d	v27	nva	23/03/15
Seven Shillings (Third Guinea) and 7s6d	v39	11/21	08/03/22
Eight Shillings and 8s4d	v25	nva	23/03/15
Ten Shillings and 10s6d (Half Guinea)	v55	12/19 & 10/19	16/02/20
Fifteen Shillings	v24	nva	23/03/15
One Pound or Guinea	v67	12/23 & 10/21 or CYB 07	27/11/23
Thirty Shillings	v23	nva	23/03/15
Two Pounds or Guineas	v48	01/22, 12/19 & 08/10	07/09/22
Fifty and Sixty Shillings	v26	nva	23/03/15
Five Pounds and Guineas	v54	01/22, 12/19 & 11/20	07/09/22
Maundy Sets	v37	04/18	07/08/20
Decimal Halfpenny	v3	05/24	09/08/24
Decimal One Penny	v4	05/24	12/08/24
Decimal Two Pence	v3	05/24	12/08/24
Decimal Five Pence	v29	06/24	20/08/24
Decimal Ten Pence	v4	06/24	19/08/24
Decimal Twenty Pence	v39	07/24	13/08/24
Decimal Fifty Pence	v6	08/24 & 08/20	21/08/24
Decimal One Pound	v3	10/18	19/06/19
Decimal Two Pounds	v6	10/22	11/09/24
Decimal Crowns and £5 Coins	v46	07/24 & 12/18	13/08/24
Post-1971 Gold	v38	CYB07 & 12/18	27/03/19
Decimal Royal Mint Sets	v27	CYB07	01/05/18

nva means no values available on that page.
CYB stands for Coin Yearbook, published by Token Publishing Ltd.

Current exchange rates and bullion values should be available on my Bullion Value page.

Please note that the decimal pages have been reorganised (March 2015)

Early Proof Sets

No values are given for proof sets prior to 1937. For information on these purchase a copy of the Coin Yearbook from Token Publishing Ltd, PO Box 14, Honiton, Devon EX14 9YP, UK

CSV Files

The Pre-Decimal UK Coins CSV File (87 kbytes) is available suitable for loading into your favourite database or spreadsheet. This file has an exhaustive list of all years and denominations prior to decimalisation, but is not always as up-to-date as the information on the values pages.

For Decimal Coins try the Decimal UK Coins CSV File (16 kbytes). This file is separate from the Pre-decimal file because only one grade is valued (two if a readily available proof exists).

Sadly there is a problem if it is loaded into Excel, which insists that numbers are treated as numbers and not text whether or not the item is enclosed in inverted commas. My own spreadsheet takes 1689e90 as a number and "1689e90" as text. Excel files are now available, but are much larger than the CSV files, and will only rarely be updated, as a good deal of work is needed to deal with the idiosyncrasies of Excel.

Click here to download an 87 kbyte Zip file containing Pre-Decimal UK Coins Excel File (288 kbytes) and Decimal UK Coins Excel File (59 kbytes).

Grading

A range of grades are used to describe the condition of coins. Valuation of a coin is impossible without a sound knowledge of the grading of coins. For this there is no real substitute for experience. However, the following is a guide to the main grading scheme used for UK coins (please note that the UK standards are higher than for US coins):

• Poor: Inscriptions worn off, date illegible, only outline of design visible. (US: AG-3)
• Fair: Date, legends and denomination (if any) legible, type recognisable. Very little detail visible. (US: VG-8)
• Good (G): (A US grade, better described as Mediocre) Inscriptions and date considerably worn but legible.
• Very Good (VG): A US grade, Fair in UK. Considerable wear over the whole coin, and high spots worn through. Coins in this or the previous grades are really only collectable if extremely rare. (US: VG-8)

The value pages do not give estimated values for coins in worse than Fine condition. For coins prior to 1815 only the next three grades are quoted for, while those from 1815 also include the Unc grade

• Fine (F): Worn over whole area, but only the highest spots are worn completely through. (US: VF-20)
• Very Fine (VF): Detail clear, but obvious evidence of very limited circulation. High spots worn but detail remains. Traces of mint lustre may linger amongst the letters of the inscription. (US: EF-40)
• Extremely Fine (EF): Slight wear on high spots on close inspection, and all other detail clear and sharp. Much mint lustre may remain. May appear uncirculated to the naked eye. (US: MS-60)
• Uncirculated (Unc): No wear at all, although it is possible for the design not to be fully struck up in the minting process. There may be bag abrasions. Older coins may be tarnished or toned.(US: MS-62 to 65)

There are two higher grades seen in dealers lists:

• Brilliant Uncirculated (BU): Usually implies full mint lustre.(US: MS-67)
• FDC (Fleur de Coin): Perfect mint state, with no abrasions or marks, and full lustre. Usually applied to proof coins only, or coins from sealed mint sets. (US: MS-70)
• Proof: Not a condition, but the coin has been struck using specially prepared dies and blanks, and the minting process has been carried out usually at least twice with extra pressure to ensure the die is filled. Normally the fields are highly polished, with the design matte, however matte proofs where the whole coin is matte are known (especially the 1902 GB proofs), and sometimes even the design is polished (especially from the early 1970's for UK proof sets). Proof coins usually have very sharp edges.

Many coins fall in between grades, and so terms such as 'nearly VF', 'good VF', 'gem BU' are encountered.

Sources

It is stressed that the prices in the above pages are a guide to current retail prices only, and in UK pounds. The prices are significantly more than you might expect to receive when you are selling. At present (January 2024) 1 UK pound is about US$1.27. For other currencies consult your local bank.

I can take no personal responsibility for their accuracy, although every effort has been made to ensure that they have been entered correctly.

Current exchange rates (between GBP, EUR and US$) and bullion values may be available on my Bullion Value page.

The information has generally, but not exclusively, been taken from the UK monthly magazine Coin News, and is reproduced by the kind permission of

Token Publishing Ltd, 40 Southernhay East, Exeter, EX1 1PE

Many Proofs exist which are not listed, although values for the more common pre-decimal proofs are generally given.

I would welcome any feedback to produce a more exhaustive list.

Links

Tony's Home Page
Main History Index Page
Main Pictures Index Page

Help and Advice