1 Shilling - Victoria 2nd portrait 2nd type (1889–1892)

One row for each year the 1 Shilling - Victoria 2nd portrait – 2nd 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. 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 1889 1 Shilling - Victoria – 2nd type

The 1889 1 Shilling - Victoria – 2nd type is a circulating 1 shilling coin issued from 1889 to 1892, struck in 92.5% silver. It weighs 5.66g and measures 23.5mm across. Reverse design: Crowned Royal shield within Garter, divided date below.

A mintage of 7,039,628 is recorded for one date of this type; figures for each year are not held. It is no longer legal tender (withdrawn 1990), so its value is to collectors only.

Common questions

History and design

Joseph Edgar Boehm's Jubilee portrait had been criticised from its release in 1887. In 1889 the shilling was altered on both sides: Wikipedia, citing Coincraft, records that a larger version of Boehm's effigy was approved by the Queen and slight changes were made to the reverse. That September, Victoria wrote that she disliked the new coinage very much, but the Mint did not replace it until 1893.

The large bust was struck from 1889 to 1892. Coin Hunter and Wikipedia agree on 8,794,042 for 1890, 5,665,348 for 1891 and 4,591,622 for 1892. The 1889 total of 7,039,628 includes the small bust, though CoinVarieties notes that the large bust is the common version of that year.

The obverse is Boehm's crowned and veiled Jubilee Head in its larger 1889 version, with VICTORIA DEI GRATIA BRITT REGINA F D around. The reverse keeps the crowned shield of England, Scotland and Ireland within the Garter, inscribed HONI SOIT QUI MAL Y PENSE, with the date divided below. Wikipedia credits the heraldic reverses of the Jubilee coinage to Leonard Charles Wyon. As on the earlier type, the coin carries no statement of its value, and the edge is milled.

Varieties and errors

CoinVarieties records a proof of the large bust dated 1889, offered in a Swiss auction in 2023 and tied for the finest certified by NGC. No recognised mint errors are documented for this type.

Collecting notes

For 1889, compare the bust with the small-bust Jubilee shilling, since both were struck that year and the small bust is the scarcer coin. The 1890 to 1892 dates belong only to this type. The Old Head shilling replaced it in 1893 and restored the words ONE SHILLING. Shillings remained legal tender as 5p pieces until 31 December 1990.