1 Penny - William IV (1831–1837)

One row for each year the 1 Penny - William IV 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 1831 1 Penny - William IV

The 1831 1 Penny - William IV is a circulating 1 penny coin issued from 1831 to 1837, struck in copper. It weighs 18.9g and measures 34mm across. Reverse design: Seated figure of Britannia right, trident in left hand and shield bearing the Union flag in right, legend around and national flower emblems in exergue.

Mintage figures are recorded for 3 years between 1831 and 1837, 1,303,600 coins in all. 1837 is the scarcest date, with 174,700 struck. It is no longer legal tender (withdrawn 1869), so its value is to collectors only.

Common questions

History and design

Copper pennies were struck again from 1825 under George IV, after a gap that began with Boulton's last pennies of 1806 and 1807. William IV, who succeeded his brother in 1830, had pennies struck in just three years, 1831, 1834 and 1837. Wikipedia notes that an 1836 penny has been reported but never confirmed, and Tony Clayton shares the doubt.

Wikipedia and Coin Hunter agree on 806,400 for 1831, 322,560 for 1834 and 174,720 for 1837, about 1.3 million in all. Roughly a quarter of the copper struck between 1821 and 1856 went overseas, Ceylon above all. The penny was replaced by a bronze coin of half the weight from 1860, and Wikipedia records that the pre-1860 copper penny was demonetised after 1869 in Britain.

The obverse shows the King's head facing right with GULIELMUS IIII DEI GRATIA and the date. Wikipedia describes it as engraved by William Wyon from a model by Sir Francis Chantrey, and the Royal Mint Museum confirms that Wyon's William IV portraits were based on Chantrey's bust.

The reverse is identical to George IV's penny: Britannia seated facing right with shield and trident, and the legend BRITANNIAR REX FID DEF, "King of the British Territories, Defender of the Faith". Clayton gives the copper pennies of 1825 to 1860 as about 18.8 grams and 34 millimetres, the same size Wikipedia gives for Boulton's pennies of 1806 and 1807.

Varieties and errors

Clayton lists three versions of the currency 1831 penny, distinguished on the truncation of the King's neck: no initials, .W.W incuse, and W.W incuse. Proofs dated 1831 exist, some bronzed and some with the dies aligned coin fashion rather than medal fashion.

Collecting notes

On an 1831 penny, check the truncation under magnification for the initials, since these decide the variety. CoinVarieties remarks that the type is easy to find worn but scarce in high grade; 1837, the lowest mintage, is the hardest date.

The William IV halfpenny was struck in the same three years. The silver penny of the reign was still made, but only for the Royal Maundy, and is covered at William IV Maundy penny.