1 Penny - Elizabeth II 5th portrait Royal Shield (2015–2022)

One row for each year the 1 Penny - Elizabeth II 5th portrait – Royal Shield was struck. Prices are medians of verified sold listings matched to that year from the listing: circulated is worn condition up to Extremely Fine, uncirculated is About Uncirculated or better. A count in brackets means fewer than three sales behind the figure; a grey figure marked "type" is the median across every year, shown where that year has no sale of its own yet; years with no sales yet fill in as sales are recorded. Most types have been searched year by year only since October 2026, so later years are still filling in. Use the grade table below for a price by condition across all years.

About the 2015 1 Penny - Elizabeth II – Royal Shield

The 2015 1 Penny - Elizabeth II – Royal Shield is a circulating 1 penny coin issued from 2015 to 2022 in the Royal Shield series, struck in copper plated steel. It weighs 3.56g and measures 20.3mm across. Reverse design: Left section of the Royal Shield, denomination to left segment.

Mintage figures are recorded for 8 years between 2015 and 2022, 1,201,807,284 coins in all. 2018 is the scarcest date, with 24,755 struck.

Common questions

History and design

The penny of 2015 to 2022 was struck during the years when the future of the coin was openly in question. It began as a routine change of portrait: the Royal Mint unveiled a new effigy of the Queen on 2 March 2015, and the Mint's figures give 418,201,016 pennies with it that year, on top of 154,600,000 with the old portrait.

Figures stayed high for 2016 (368,482,000) and 2017 (240,990,600). Then production for circulation stopped. No 1p was issued dated 2018 or 2019, and a Treasury spokesperson said in 2019 that the Mint had not been asked for any because enough were already in circulation. Collector press at the time noted that the last year without a new penny had been 1972.

Striking resumed at a much lower level: 88,071,910 for 2020, 56,000,000 for 2021 and 30,000,000 for 2022. The six circulating dates total 1,201,745,526.

Matthew Dent's reverse is one piece of the Shield of the Royal Arms, which his 1p to 50p designs form when placed together. The proclamation describes the penny as a section of the Royal Arms showing elements of the first and third quarterings, accompanied by the words ONE PENNY. Collector guides place it at the lower left of the shield.

The obverse has Jody Clark's portrait of the Queen, in which she wears the Royal Diamond Diadem. Clark was 33 when his design was selected and was the first Royal Mint engraver in over 100 years to be chosen for a definitive royal portrait. The edge is plain, and the coin is copper-plated steel, so it is magnetic.

Collecting notes

No recognised varieties or mint errors are documented for this coin.

The three dates after the gap are the ones to note. In the Royal Mint's figures, 2020, 2021 and 2022 are each lower than any earlier 1p date, with 2022 the lowest of the Queen's reign at 30,000,000. Before them the lowest was the 100,292,000 of 1982.

Pennies dated 2018 and 2019 should not be expected in change. Collector references record that those dates were made for annual sets only. For 2015, look at the portrait: the older effigy belongs to the fourth portrait shield 1p.

The 1p is legal tender for amounts up to 20 pence and every date here still circulates. It was followed in 2023 by the Hazel Dormouse 1p of Charles III.