1 Penny - George VI without 'IND:IMP' (1949–1952)

One row for each year the 1 Penny - George VI without 'IND:IMP' 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. 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 1949 1 Penny - George VI without 'IND:IMP'

The 1949 1 Penny - George VI without 'IND:IMP' is a circulating 1 penny coin issued from 1949 to 1952, 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 with lighthouse to left, denomination above and date in exergue.

A mintage of 14,324,400 is recorded for one date of this type; figures for each year are not held. It is no longer legal tender (withdrawn 1971), so its value is to collectors only.

Common questions

History and design

After India's independence, a royal proclamation of 22 June 1948, recorded in the Gazette, removed Emperor of India from the King's titles. Pennies dated 1949 onwards therefore end their legend FIDEI DEF instead of F:D:IND:IMP.

By then Britain needed few new pennies. Wikipedia says demand fell away from January 1949 and the Royal Mint stopped making pennies that May, judging the drop permanent. The 1949 date reached 14,324,400, but the 1950 and 1951 pennies, 240,000 and 120,000 according to Clayton, Coin Hunter and Wikipedia, were made only for the colonies. Wikipedia records that in 1956 the whole 1950 mintage and three-quarters of the 1951 coins were shipped to Bermuda, where dealers later sought them out. No pennies dated 1952 were issued for circulation.

The obverse is Thomas Humphrey Paget's portrait of George VI facing left, the effigy he prepared within about a month of the abdication, with the legend GEORGIVS VI D:G:BR:OMN:REX FIDEI DEF.

The reverse keeps the Britannia set by the 1937 proclamation: seated on a rock in the sea, holding a shield and trident, with a lighthouse in the distance and ONE PENNY above. Wikipedia credits the figure to Leonard Charles Wyon's original. The edge is plain.

Varieties and errors

A single proof penny dated 1952 is known and believed unique. Clayton and Wikipedia both note it was never a circulation issue.

Collecting notes

1949 is fairly common, in Clayton's words. The 1950 and 1951 dates are the key pennies of the reign, and the 1951 date gained a following once date collecting took off in the early 1960s. Clayton notes that in brilliant uncirculated condition they are less scarce than the higher-mintage 1946 and 1949 brass threepences. Proofs of both years come from the 1950 and 1951 sets.

The penny ceased to be legal tender after 31 August 1971. The penny with IND IMP covers 1937 to 1948.