Elite: fewer than 10,000 minted. Rarely sells: 1 verified sales in the last 12 months.
1 Penny - George VI 2nd Maundy issue (1947–1948)
"Maundy penny"
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Year | 1947–1948 |
| Denomination | 1 Penny |
| Mintage | 1,387 |
| 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 | Thomas Humphrey Paget |
| Rev. artist | Jean Baptiste Merlen |
| Grade scale | UK (EF/UNC) |
Uncrowned portrait of King George VI left, legend around.
GEORGIVS VI D:G:BR:OMN:REX F:D:IND:IMP.
Crowned denomination dividing date within oak wreath.
Crowned numeral 1 in an oak wreath, date across the figure
1 Penny - George VI 2nd Maundy issue market value
Find this on eBay
Affiliate1 Penny - George VI 2nd Maundy issue value by grade
Realised auction prices · ⭐ Pro Expand rows for individual sale records| Grade | Latest | Median | 30d Δ | All-time range | Sales (1yr) | Total sales | Last sale | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| VF | £42.30 🔒 eBay | £42.30 (1) | – | £42.30 – £42.30 | 1 | 1 | 02-10-2026 | |
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About the 1947 1 Penny - George VI 2nd Maundy issue
The 1947 1 Penny - George VI 2nd Maundy issue is a collector 1 penny coin issued from 1947 to 1948 in the Maundy Money series, struck in 92.5% silver. It weighs 0.47g and measures 11mm across. Reverse design: Crowned denomination dividing date within oak wreath.
A mintage of 1,387 is recorded for one date of this type; figures for each year are not held.
Common questions
How much is the 1947 1 Penny - George VI 2nd Maundy issue worth?
The 1947 1 Penny - George VI 2nd Maundy issue has a price in one grade on MyCoinage so far: £42.30 in VF, the median of its verified sales.
Why did Maundy money go back to sterling silver in 1947?
In 1947 silver was removed from Britain's circulating coins in favour of cupro-nickel. Wikipedia, citing Lobel, says it was thought inappropriate to strike Maundy coins in base metal, so their fineness was restored to .925, the standard abandoned in the early 1920s.
How many 1947 and 1948 Maundy pennies were made?
Coinstrail's catalogue gives 1,387 for 1947 and 1,397 for 1948, and CoinVarieties confirms the 1948 figure. The type has only these two dates, because the King's title changed on the 1949 coins.
How do I tell a 1947 Maundy penny from a 1949 one?
Read the end of the legend. Pennies of 1947 and 1948 still end F:D:IND:IMP, naming the King as Emperor of India. From 1949 the legend ends FIDEI DEF, after a 1948 proclamation removed Indiae Imperator from the royal titles.
Is a 1948 Maundy penny legal tender?
Technically, yes. Wikipedia notes that Maundy coins are legal tender though they do not circulate, and the Royal Mint Museum says their face values changed from old to new pence at decimalisation in 1971, so the penny counts as 1p.
How do I identify the 1947 1 Penny - George VI 2nd Maundy issue?
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 Royal Maundy is the Maundy Thursday service at which the sovereign gives elderly recipients purses of specially struck silver coins, as many pence as the monarch's age. The penny is the smallest of the four coins in each set.
In 1947 Britain replaced silver in its circulating coinage with cupro-nickel. Wikipedia, citing Lobel, says it was thought inappropriate to strike Maundy money in base metal, so instead of following the rest of the coinage the Maundy coins went the other way, back to the sterling .925 silver given up in the early 1920s. Tony Clayton notes the same reversal. The result is a separate type struck only in 1947 and 1948, before the King's title changed. Coinstrail's catalogue gives 1,387 pennies for 1947 and 1,397 for 1948, the second figure also recorded by CoinVarieties.
Apart from the metal, nothing changed. The obverse is Thomas Humphrey Paget's portrait of George VI facing left, credited to him by the Royal Mint, with the legend set in 1937: GEORGIVS VI D:G:BR:OMN:REX F:D:IND:IMP. The Gazette records that the omission of Indiae Imperator from the King's titles was ordered only on 22 June 1948, which is why both dates still carry IND IMP.
The reverse is the traditional figure 1 with the date across it, encircled by an oak wreath under the Royal Crown, as the 1937 proclamation describes it. Wikipedia credits the wreath design to Jean Baptiste Merlen in 1822, with Leonard Charles Wyon's 1888 revision of the crown. The edge is plain.
Collecting notes
With two dates and fewer than 1,400 pennies each year, this is a short run, though the coins were preserved by their recipients rather than spent. The penny looks identical to the 1937 to 1946 pieces, so check the date to separate sterling silver from .500 silver. From 1949 the Maundy penny without IND IMP took over.
Maundy coins were revalued at decimalisation and remain legal tender at 1p.
Sources
The history, design, varieties and collecting notes on this page are drawn from these sources. Prices come from recorded sales, not from them.
- Penny 1937 to 1952, George VI (silver penny list), Coinstrail (read 10 Oct 2026)
- Succession to the Crown: King George VI, The Gazette (read 10 Oct 2026)
- 1942 George VI Maundy Set, The Royal Mint (read 10 Oct 2026)
- Maundy money, Royal Mint Museum (read 10 Oct 2026)
- Royal Maundy, Wikipedia (read 10 Oct 2026)
- Maundy Money, Tony Clayton, Coins of the UK (read 10 Oct 2026)
- UK Coins of George VI, Tony Clayton, Coins of the UK (read 10 Oct 2026)
- Proclamation giving currency to a new threepenny piece and determining new designs for gold, silver and bronze coins (London Gazette issue 34381), The Gazette (read 10 Oct 2026)
- Great Britain 1948 penny KM-846a, CoinVarieties (read 10 Oct 2026)
- Humphrey Paget, Royal Mint Museum (read 10 Oct 2026)
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