1 Penny - George V smaller portrait (1928–1936)

One row for each year the 1 Penny - George V smaller portrait 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 1928 1 Penny - George V smaller portrait

The 1928 1 Penny - George V smaller portrait is a circulating 1 penny coin issued from 1928 to 1936, struck in bronze. It weighs 9.45g and measures 30.8mm across. Reverse design: Seated figure of Britannia right, with trident in left hand and shield bearing the Union flag in right, sea behind, denomination above and date in exergue.

Mintage figures are recorded for 9 years between 1928 and 1936, 380,860,807 coins in all. 1933 is the scarcest date, with 7 struck. It is no longer legal tender (withdrawn 1971), so its value is to collectors only.

Common questions

History and design

Bertram Mackennal's portrait of George V was handsome but, as the Royal Mint Museum puts it, technically unsuited to coinage. On the large bronze penny it was so big and in such high relief that it displaced too much metal, leaving a ghost of the King's head on the reverse. CoinVarieties notes that a lower relief head of 1926 did not prove satisfactory, and in 1928 the portrait was reduced in size, which Wikipedia says effectively eliminated the problem.

Pennies of this type were struck every year from 1928 to 1936 except 1933, eight issued dates totalling 380,860,800 in Wikipedia's figures. Demand swung widely: 50,178,000 in 1928, only 8,277,600 in 1932, then 154,296,000 in 1936, the largest of the reign. The Royal Mint Museum explains that in 1933 the banks held so many pennies that none were needed, but a few were struck for foundation stones and record sets, creating Britain's best known rarity.

The obverse is Mackennal's bare head of the King facing left, smaller than before, with the legend GEORGIVS V DEI GRA:BRITT:OMN:REX FID:DEF:IND:IMP: as set by the proclamation of 28 November 1910. The reverse keeps Britannia seated on a rock in the sea with shield and trident, the inscription ONE PENNY and the date, a design Wikipedia traces to Leonard Charles Wyon as modified by George William de Saulles in 1895. The edge is plain.

Varieties and errors

The 1933 penny is the famous one: the Royal Mint Museum says the number was not recorded but is thought to be no more than six or seven. Tony Clayton adds that a 1933 penny found today is almost certainly an altered date or a coin from Ireland or the Channel Islands. Separately, Wikipedia records that all 1934 pennies and most of the 1935 mintage were darkened with sodium thiosulphate before issue, so their dark colour is original.

Collecting notes

Among the issued dates, 1932 and 1934 have the lowest mintages. Proof pennies were struck, and CoinVarieties notes that proofs of this type are rare. The old penny ceased to be legal tender after 31 August 1971. The 1926 to 1927 modified effigy penny came before this type.