Elite: fewer than 10,000 minted.
1 Penny - George III Maundy Coinage (1817–1820)
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Year | 1817–1820 |
| Denomination | 1 Penny |
| Mintage | 10,000 |
| Mint | Royal Mint · Llantrisant |
| Series | Maundy Money |
| Circulation | Non-circulating |
| Composition | Silver (.925) (925/1000 fine) |
| Weight | 0.470g · 0.0140 t oz |
| Diameter | 11.0mm |
| Shape | Round |
| Edge | Plain |
| Orientation | Medal alignment ↑↑ |
| Obv. artist | Benedetto Pistrucci |
| Grade scale | UK (EF/UNC) |
Laureate bust of King George III right, legend around, date below.
GEORGIUS III DEI GRATIA
Central crowned denomination with legend around.
BRITANNIARUM REX FID: DEF:
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Daily limit reachedAbout the 1817 1 Penny - George III Maundy Coinage
The 1817 1 Penny - George III Maundy Coinage is a collector 1 penny coin issued from 1817 to 1820 in the Maundy Money series, struck in 92.5% silver. It weighs 0.47g and measures 11mm across. Reverse design: Central crowned denomination with legend around.
A mintage of 10,000 is recorded for one date of this type; figures for each year are not held.
Common questions
How much is the 1817 1 Penny - George III Maundy Coinage worth?
No verified sale of the 1817 1 Penny - George III Maundy Coinage has been logged on MyCoinage yet.
Which years were George III's last Maundy pennies struck?
1817, 1818 and 1820, according to Wikipedia's history of the penny. No penny is dated 1819. These follow a long run of pennies dated 1800, a date the Maundy coins kept until 1815 because of wartime restrictions on striking silver.
How many 1818 Maundy pennies were made?
CoinVarieties, citing the standard catalogues, gives 9,504 for the Maundy sets of 1818 and notes that more were struck for circulation. No published figure was found for 1817 or 1820.
Who designed the portrait?
Benedetto Pistrucci. The Royal Mint Museum says he was commissioned to model George III's portraits for the new gold and silver coins of 1817, and Wikipedia credits the 1817 Maundy obverse to him.
Is a George III Maundy penny legal tender?
Wikipedia states that at decimalisation all Maundy pieces were deemed by law to be denominated in new pence, so in principle it is a 1p coin. In practice it is a collector's piece and is never spent.
How do I identify the 1817 1 Penny - George III Maundy Coinage?
Check the weight 0.47g and diameter 11mm and the metal (92.5% silver) against the specification table on this page. The reverse design is described above.
History and design
The Great Recoinage of 1816 restored a regular silver coinage after years in which almost none had been struck. Wikipedia's Royal Maundy article records that Maundy pieces issued from 1800 to 1815 all carried the date 1800, to evade wartime prohibitions on striking silver. When the date was finally changed in 1816, the coins were made slightly smaller, because the Mint now cut 66 shillings of coin from a troy pound of sterling silver instead of 62.
The new penny was dated 1817, 1818 and 1820, with no 1819. Wikipedia gives its diameter as reduced from 12 to 11 mm in 1817, while the weight stayed at about half a gram. CoinVarieties, citing the standard catalogues, gives 9,504 pennies for the 1818 Maundy sets and notes that more were struck for circulation.
The obverse carries a laureate head of the King facing right, with GEORGIUS III DEI GRATIA and the date below. Wikipedia credits this 1817 Maundy obverse to Benedetto Pistrucci, and the Royal Mint Museum records that Pistrucci was commissioned to model George III's portraits for the new gold and silver coins of 1817. The reverse is the crowned numeral 1 with BRITANNIARUM REX FID: DEF:, King of the Britains, Defender of the Faith, replacing the older MAG BRI FR ET HIB REX. The Royal Mint Museum's 1817 penny weighs 0.48 g and has a plain edge.
Collecting notes
Tony Clayton lists full four-coin Maundy sets for 1817, 1818 and 1820, and notes that after 1820 the small silver coins were struck only for the Maundy ceremony. These pennies are the last of the reign. Check for cleaning, scratches and signs of mounting, and read the date under the head with a lens. The matching coin is the George III Maundy twopence.
Sources
The history, design, varieties and collecting notes on this page are drawn from these sources. Prices come from recorded sales, not from them.
- Royal Maundy, Wikipedia (read 12 Oct 2026)
- Benedetto Pistrucci, Royal Mint Museum (read 12 Oct 2026)
- History of the British penny (1714 to 1901), Wikipedia (read 12 Oct 2026)
- Penny (Maundy Money) of George III, 1818 (1947-3/1/475), Science Museum Group, via Museum Data Service (read 12 Oct 2026)
- George III Maundy penny, 1817 (RMM 1270), The Royal Mint Museum, via Museum Data Service (read 12 Oct 2026)
- Great Britain 1818 penny, CoinVarieties (read 12 Oct 2026)
- Values of Maundy Sets, Tony Clayton, Coins of the UK (read 12 Oct 2026)
- Maundy Money, Tony Clayton, Coins of the UK (read 12 Oct 2026)
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