1 Penny - Victoria Pattern with ship - 3rd Portrait (1894)
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Year | 1894 |
| Denomination | 1 Penny |
| Mint | Royal Mint · Llantrisant |
| Circulation | Non-circulating |
| Demonetised | Yes |
| Composition | Bronze |
| Weight | 9.360g |
| Diameter | 30.0mm |
| Shape | Round |
| Edge | Plain |
| Orientation | Medal alignment ↑↑ |
| Obv. artist | Thomas Brock |
| Grade scale | UK (EF/UNC) |
Diadem, veiled portrait ('Old Head' or 'Widow Head') of Queen Victoria left, legend around,
Seated figure of Britannia right, with trident in left hand and shield bearing the Union flag in right, sea behind with sailing galleon on bottom right of design. The date and denomination around.
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Daily limit reachedAbout the 1894 1 Penny - Victoria Pattern with ship -
The 1894 1 Penny - Victoria Pattern with ship - is a collector 1 penny coin, struck in bronze. It weighs 9.36g and measures 30mm across. Reverse design: Seated figure of Britannia right, with trident in left hand and shield bearing the Union flag in right, sea behind with sailing galleon on bottom right of design. The date and denomination around.
It is no longer legal tender, so its value is to collectors only.
Common questions
How much is the 1894 1 Penny - Victoria Pattern with ship - worth?
No verified sale of the 1894 1 Penny - Victoria Pattern with ship - has been logged on MyCoinage yet.
What is the 1894 Old Head pattern penny?
It is a trial striking of the new penny design, dated 1894 while the bun head penny was still the current coin. The Royal Mint Museum catalogues its example among patterns and proofs, and CoinVarieties notes that because the regular 1894 issue was the bun head type, an Old Head penny of that date counts as a pattern.
Was the 1894 Old Head penny ever issued?
No. Wikipedia records that the Old Head design was introduced on the penny in 1895, under a proclamation of 11 May that year. Every circulating 1894 penny carries the bun head portrait. The 1894 Old Head piece exists only as a pattern.
How can a genuine 1894 pattern be recognised?
The Royal Mint Museum's example is bronze, weighs 9.3 g and has a plain edge, and is catalogued as Peck 2065. CoinVarieties records an example in proof condition catalogued as Freeman 776. Any piece offered should match these details and carry the 1894 date with the Old Head obverse.
How do I identify the 1894 1 Penny - Victoria Pattern with ship -?
Check the weight 9.36g and diameter 30mm and the metal (bronze) against the specification table on this page. The reverse design is described above.
History and design
Thomas Brock's veiled portrait of Queen Victoria, chosen after a competition held by the 1891 committee on coin design, went onto the gold and silver coins in 1893. The bronze coins followed later: the Royal Mint Museum's 1906 catalogue says Brock's bust was adopted for the bronze in 1895, and Wikipedia dates the proclamation for the new penny to 11 May 1895.
This piece was struck in 1894, while the regular penny still carried Leonard Charles Wyon's bun head. The museum catalogues its example among patterns and proofs, and CoinVarieties, describing an example from the Norweb collection, explains that because the regular 1894 issue was the bun head type, an Old Head penny of that date counts as a pattern. It was never issued for circulation.
The museum's catalogue entry (no. 2268) gives the legends and types as similar to the third issue penny: Brock's bust of the Queen in diadem and veil on the obverse, engraved by George William de Saulles, and a seated Britannia with trident and shield on the reverse with ONE PENNY and the date. The CoinVarieties lot description calls it an Old Head issue with a new style of reverse and a plain edge.
Collecting notes
The Royal Mint Museum's example is bronze, weighs 9.3 g and is catalogued as Peck 2065. CoinVarieties records a proof example as Freeman 776. No mintage is recorded. Compare any piece with the issued Old Head penny of 1895 to 1901, whose reverse lacks the lighthouse and ship of the bun penny.
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. 179 and 196, no. 2268, Royal Mint Museum (read 10 Oct 2026)
- Victoria pattern penny, 1894 (RMM 4258), The Royal Mint Museum, via Museum Data Service (read 10 Oct 2026)
- Great Britain 1894 penny KM-790, CoinVarieties (read 10 Oct 2026)
- History of the British penny (1714 to 1901), Wikipedia (read 10 Oct 2026)
- Jubilee coinage, Wikipedia (read 10 Oct 2026)
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