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1 Penny - Victoria Decimal Pattern (1859)
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Year | 1859 |
| Denomination | 1 Penny |
| Mint | Royal Mint · Llantrisant |
| Circulation | Non-circulating |
| Composition | Bronze |
| Shape | Round |
| Edge | Plain |
| Orientation | Medal alignment ↑↑ |
| Obv. artist | James Wyon |
| Grade scale | UK (EF/UNC) |
Youthful diademed head of Victoria to left, legends around, date below and
VICTORIA D: G: BRIT: REG: F: D:
Denomination across three lines within open-topped wreath below St. Edward's Crown.
ONE DECIMAL PENNY
1 Penny - Victoria Decimal Pattern market value
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Daily limit reached1 Penny - Victoria Decimal Pattern 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 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UNC | £2,400.00 🔒 | £2,400.00 (1) | – | £600.00 – £2,400.00 | 1 | 2 | 06-12-2025 | |
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| PR-66 | £2,400.00 🔒 | £2,400.00 (1) | – | £2,400.00 – £2,400.00 | 1 | 1 | 07-12-2025 | |
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About the 1859 1 Penny - Victoria Decimal Pattern
The 1859 1 Penny - Victoria Decimal Pattern is a collector 1 penny coin, struck in bronze. Reverse design: Denomination across three lines within open-topped wreath below St. Edward's Crown.
Common questions
How much is the 1859 1 Penny - Victoria Decimal Pattern worth?
Verified sold prices for the 1859 1 Penny - Victoria Decimal Pattern run from £2,400 to £2,400 across 2 grades, taking the median for each grade. Condition makes the difference, so check the grade table above before pricing one.
What is the 1859 decimal penny?
It is a pattern, a trial coin struck at the Royal Mint while a decimal coinage was being considered. The Royal Mint Museum's 1906 catalogue lists at least ten different 1859 decimal penny designs. None was adopted, and the bronze penny of 1860 kept the old system of 240 pence to the pound.
Was the decimal penny ever legal tender?
No. It was a trial piece only. The Royal Commission on Decimal Coinage, Wikipedia records, found that decimalisation had few merits, and Britain did not decimalise until 1971. The coin that actually replaced the copper penny was Leonard Charles Wyon's bronze bun penny of 1860.
What metal is the 1859 decimal penny struck in?
The Royal Mint Museum's own example of this design is recorded as aluminium-copper, weighing 8.55 g, with a plain edge. Other 1859 decimal patterns in the museum are in cupro-nickel and nickel-bronze, so examples of this design in other metals cannot be ruled out.
History and design
In the 1850s Britain seriously considered a decimal coinage. Wikipedia's account of the recoinage explains that a Royal Commission on Decimal Coinage was appointed in 1856, and that the Royal Mint surveyed the copper coinage in connection with it because a decimal system would mean replacing the coppers. The commission's final report found decimalisation had "few merits", and the copper coinage was instead replaced by bronze in 1860 on the old system.
While the question was open the Mint produced a long run of trial pieces. The Royal Mint Museum's 1906 catalogue groups them as patterns, mostly for a decimal coinage, and lists at least ten 1859 decimal penny designs, among them pieces showing Una and the lion, a lion with a naval trophy, and a trident between dolphins. This piece is one of them. It was never issued.
The catalogue describes the obverse as reading VICTORIA D: G: BRIT: REG: F: D: around a large diademed head of the Queen, with no beaded circle, the date below and the initials J. W. raised on the neck, which it identifies as James Wyon. The Royal Mint Museum's history of the Wyon family records that James was Resident Engraver from 1851 to 1861.
The reverse reads ONE DECIMAL PENNY in three lines under a crown, within a wreath of laurel and oak. The museum's example has a plain edge.
Collecting notes
The Royal Mint Museum holds this design as RMM 4376, catalogued as Peck 1996, struck in aluminium-copper and weighing 8.55 g. Its other 1859 decimal pennies include cupro-nickel and nickel-bronze pieces, so check the metal and weight of any example against the museum's records. No mintage is recorded.
Sources
The history, design, varieties and collecting notes on this page are drawn from these sources. Prices come from recorded sales, not from them.
- Catalogue of the Coins, Tokens, Medals, Dies and Seals in the Museum of the Royal Mint, Vol. I Part I (W. J. Hocking, 1906), pp. 197 to 200, nos. 2320 to 2341, Royal Mint Museum (read 10 Oct 2026)
- Victoria pattern decimal penny, 1859 (RMM 4376), The Royal Mint Museum, via Museum Data Service (read 10 Oct 2026)
- The Wyons: A Dynasty of Engravers, Royal Mint Museum (read 10 Oct 2026)
- 1860s replacement of the British copper coinage, Wikipedia (read 10 Oct 2026)
- Object search: Victoria pattern penny 1859, Museum Data Service (read 10 Oct 2026)
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