Quick answer
A King Charles III 5p coin (the oak leaf 5p, dated 2023 or 2025) is worth its 5p face value if it has been in circulation. The Royal Mint struck 32,400,000 dated 2023 and 19,000,000 dated 2025, with none in 2024. The one verified sale tracked by MyCoinage was £1.16.
Key facts
| Fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Coin | King Charles III 5p, oak tree leaf design |
| First date | 2023 (design unveiled 12 October 2023) |
| Obverse | Uncrowned portrait of the King by Martin Jennings |
| Reverse | A leaf from an oak tree, credited to the Royal Mint |
| Circulation mintage | 2023: 32,400,000. 2024: none. 2025: 19,000,000 |
| Metal and weight | Nickel-plated steel, 3.25g, 18.0mm diameter, milled edge |
| In circulation | Yes, from 23 October 2025 |
| Typical sold price | About face value. One verified sale at £1.16 (MyCoinage, late 2026) |
Are King Charles 5p coins worth anything?
Not much above 5p, and that is the honest answer for any coin taken from change. Tens of millions exist, they are still being issued, and a 5p that has been handled has no collector premium.
The MyCoinage page for the King Charles III oak leaf 5p shows one verified sale: £1.16 for a single coin in July 2026. That is a thin sample, so treat it as a sign that buyers pay a pound or so for the convenience of not hunting for one, not as a firm market price. This is based on sold prices tracked by MyCoinage, late 2026.
Coins from the Royal Mint's 2023 sets are a different thing. They were sold as collector products in brilliant uncirculated and proof finishes, and the 5p in those sets carries a privy mark that circulating coins do not have. Their value sits with the complete set, not with the 5p pulled out of it.
If a listing claims a King Charles 5p is "rare" and asks a large sum, compare it with sold prices before believing it. The coin value checker guide explains how to tell a sold price from an asking price.
King Charles 5p coin mintage figures, year by year
The Royal Mint publishes circulation mintages by denomination. Its 5p page was last updated on 27 August 2026, and the figures below are taken from that data.
| Date on coin | Design | Circulation mintage | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | Royal Shield (Elizabeth II) | 42,800,000 | Last shield 5p |
| 2023 | Oak tree leaf | 32,400,000 | Published |
| 2024 | Oak tree leaf | 0 | Published: none struck for circulation |
| 2025 | Oak tree leaf | 19,000,000 | Published |
| 2026 | Oak tree leaf | No figure yet | Not published at the time of writing |
Two points matter here. First, 2024-dated oak leaf 5p coins exist only in collector sets, because the circulation figure for that year is zero. Second, there is no 2026 figure yet, which is normal: the Mint confirms each year's numbers after the event.
How rare is that for a 5p?
Low for a 5p, but not low by collector standards. In the Royal Mint's table the four smallest circulation 5p mintages are 2025 (19,000,000), 1977 (24,308,000), 2021 (28,000,000) and 2023 (32,400,000). No 5p coins were struck for circulation in 2018 or 2024.
Compare that with the commemorative coins people actually pay for. The King Charles Atlantic salmon 50p has a 2023 mintage of 200,000. The oak leaf 5p is more than 150 times as common, which is why its price stays at face value.
You can see every year side by side on the 5p mintage table, and the guide to UK coin mintages explains why a low figure for one denomination is not the same as scarcity.
When did the King Charles 5p coin 2023 enter circulation?
Later than the date suggests. The coins are dated 2023 and were minted in October 2023, but the Royal Mint did not release them until 23 October 2025, when it announced that 23.2 million were entering circulation across the UK.
The Mint said the release was driven by demand for the denomination. New coins are only issued when banks and Post Offices need them, which is why a design can sit in a vault for two years.
It was the first 5p to carry the King's portrait and the first change to the 5p design in circulation in 17 years. The previous shield design had been in use since 2008. The coins went out through banks and Post Office branches, with a special allocation for Post Offices that have "Oak" in their name or stand near well-known oak trees.
One thing could not be confirmed for this post: whether the 19,000,000 coins dated 2025 have yet been released into general circulation. The Royal Mint lists them as struck, but its release announcement covers the 2023-dated coins only. If you find a 2025-dated one in change, that answers it.
What is on the King Charles 5p?
The reverse shows a single leaf from an oak tree. The Royal Mint chose it to represent the oak's role in British woodland, describing the oak as supporting more life than any other native tree species in the UK.
It is one of eight definitive designs unveiled on 12 October 2023, running from the 1p to the £2, all based on British plants and animals. The Mint developed them with support from the Royal Horticultural Society and the RSPB. A repeating pattern of three interlocking Cs, taken from the cypher of Charles II, appears on every coin in the set.
The obverse carries Martin Jennings's uncrowned portrait of the King, facing left. The size and metal are unchanged from the late Queen's 5p: 18.0mm across, 3.25g, 1.7mm thick, nickel-plated steel with a milled edge.
For the full set of eight designs, see the guide to King Charles III coinage.
What is the King Charles 5p coin privy mark?
The privy mark is a small Tudor crown on the obverse. The Royal Mint describes it as a coronation privy mark that forms part of the King's cypher.
It is exclusive to the 2023-dated commemorative sets. The Mint's own guidance says the 2024 definitive coins do not have one, and the coins released into circulation in 2025 were not set coins.
So the check is simple. A 2023 oak leaf 5p with a tiny crown on the King's side came out of a collector set. One without it came from circulation. Neither is an error, and the privy mark does not make a loose, handled 5p valuable. The difference between set finishes is covered in BU packs and proof sets explained.
How to check a King Charles 5p from your change
Look at the date first. A 2023 or 2025 date matches a published circulation mintage. A 2024 date means the coin has come out of a set.
Then look at the King's side for the Tudor crown privy mark, and at the condition. A coin with full lustre and no marks is the only kind a collector will pay over face for, and even then the premium is small.
For 5p coins that do carry a premium, the 5p coin values guide covers the older large 5p, the low-mintage years and the silver proofs. The King's other definitives have their own pages too, including the bee £1 coin.
If you have found one, you can log it in the Change Hunter and add it to your collection on MyCoinage to track what examples sell for as more sales are recorded. It is free to start.
FAQ
Are King Charles 5p coins worth anything?
A King Charles 5p from circulation is worth 5p. The Royal Mint struck 32,400,000 dated 2023 and 19,000,000 dated 2025, so they are not scarce. MyCoinage has tracked one verified sale, at £1.16 in July 2026. Coins still in a Royal Mint set are worth more as part of that set.
How many King Charles 5p coins were minted?
The Royal Mint's published figures show 32,400,000 oak leaf 5p coins dated 2023, none struck for circulation in 2024, and 19,000,000 dated 2025. No 2026 figure had been published when this was written. Of the 2023 coins, 23.2 million were released in October 2025.
What is on the King Charles 5p?
The reverse shows a leaf from an oak tree, chosen to represent the oak's place in British woodland. The obverse has Martin Jennings's uncrowned portrait of King Charles III. A pattern of three interlocking Cs links it to the other seven definitive designs unveiled on 12 October 2023.
What is the privy mark on the King Charles 5p?
It is a small Tudor crown on the obverse, taken from the King's cypher. The Royal Mint says it is exclusive to the 2023-dated commemorative sets, so 5p coins issued into circulation do not carry it. It identifies a set coin and is not an error.
When did the King Charles 5p enter circulation?
The King Charles 5p entered circulation on 23 October 2025, when the Royal Mint released 23.2 million coins through banks and Post Offices. The coins are dated 2023 because they were minted in October 2023 and held until there was demand for more 5p pieces.
Is the 2023 5p coin rare?
No. With 32,400,000 struck, the 2023 5p is the fourth-lowest circulation 5p in the Royal Mint's table, behind 2025, 1977 and 2021, but that is still tens of millions of coins. It is uncommon in change only because King Charles coins are a small share of all coins in use.
Sources
- The Royal Mint: 5p mintage figures
- The Royal Mint: King Charles III's first 5p coins enter circulation (press release, 23 October 2025)
- The Royal Mint: five pence coin designs and specifications
- The Royal Mint: 2023 definitive sets FAQ (privy mark)
- The Royal Mint: 5p facts
- The Royal Mint: new coins of the nation unveiled (press release, 12 October 2023)