1 Shilling - George V 4th type (1927–1936)

One row for each year the 1 Shilling - George V 4th type 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; years with no sales yet fill in as sales are recorded. 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 1927 1 Shilling - George V 4th type

The 1927 1 Shilling - George V 4th type is a circulating 1 shilling coin issued from 1927 to 1936, struck in 50% silver. It weighs 5.66g and measures 23.5mm across. Reverse design: Crowned lion passant atop crown, legend above, denomination and date below.

Mintage figures are recorded for 9 years between 1928 and 1936, 98,522,700 coins in all. 1930 is the scarcest date, with 3,137,000 struck. It is no longer legal tender (withdrawn 1990), so its value is to collectors only.

Common questions

History and design

Robert Johnson, Deputy Master of the Royal Mint from the 1920s, wanted fresher designs than the heraldic patterns George V had inherited. The Royal Mint Museum records that he set up the Royal Mint Advisory Committee in 1922 and that George Kruger Gray's new reverse designs were approved by the King in 1927. A proclamation of 3 November 1927 set them out, taking effect from 1 December.

The full new series dated 1927 was sold in proof sets from December 1927. Tony Clayton notes that, uniquely, the new shilling was also issued for circulation in 1927, though no reference gives a separate figure for it. From 1928 to 1936 Coin Hunter and Wikipedia agree on every date except 1930, about 98.5 million in all. The 1930 output was tiny by comparison: 3,137,092 in Wikipedia's table and 3,172,092 in Coin Hunter's, against 19,343,006 in 1929.

The reverse is still the Royal Crest, a crowned lion standing on a crown, but redrawn by Kruger Gray with a larger lion and crown. The proclamation gives it FID. DEF. IND. IMP. with ONE SHILLING and the date, which now sits in the legend instead of dividing the crest. TreasureRealm notes the initials K and G at the top, separated by the end of the lion's tail.

The obverse is Bertram Mackennal's bare head of George V facing left, with GEORGIVS V DEI GRA: BRITT: OMN: REX, as on the crown. The proclamation specifies a grained (milled) edge.

Collecting notes

1930 is the key date, with 1934 and 1931 the next lowest. Check a 1927 carefully: Coin Hunter and Clayton list both a currency coin and a proof of the new type for that year, while the modified effigy shilling with the date across the crest was also struck in 1927. No recognised varieties or mint errors are documented for this type.

George V's shillings carry only the English crest; Clayton notes the separate Scottish shilling began under George VI. Shillings circulated as 5p pieces until they were demonetised at the end of December 1990.