10 Pence - Elizabeth II 3rd portrait large type set issue (1985–1992)

One row for each year the 10 Pence - Elizabeth II 3rd portrait – large type set issue 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 1985 10 Pence - Elizabeth II – large type set issue

The 1985 10 Pence - Elizabeth II – large type set issue is a collector 10 pence coin issued from 1985 to 1992, struck in copper-nickel (75% Cu, 25% Ni). It weighs 11.31g and measures 28.5mm across. Reverse design: Part of the Crest of England, a lion passant guardant royally crowned, legend above, denomination below.

Mintage figures are recorded for 8 years between 1985 and 1992, 985,662 coins in all. 1991 is the scarcest date, with 74,975 struck. It is no longer legal tender (withdrawn 1993), so its value is to collectors only.

Common questions

History and design

The large 10p, the same size as the florin, had been in use since 1968. By the time Raphael Maklouf's portrait of the Queen was adopted for the coinage in 1985, no new 10p coins were being issued: the Royal Mint's circulating figures stop at 1981 and do not resume until 1992. The Maklouf portrait was still paired with the 10p reverse each year, but only for the coins that went into the annual collector sets.

That continued for eight dates, 1985 to 1992. Tony Clayton's reference lists all of them as obtainable only from Mint and Proof sets. Meanwhile, after a review of the coinage in 1987, the Government announced its intention to issue a smaller 10p. The smaller coin was issued on 30 September 1992, and the large 10p was demonetised in 1993.

The result is a definitive coin of a circulating denomination that was never itself put into circulation.

The reverse is Christopher Ironside's crowned lion, used on the 10p from 1968 to 2008 and described formally as part of the crest of England, a lion passant guardant royally crowned. TEN PENCE is written above and the figure 10 below.

Maklouf's portrait shows the Queen wearing the Diamond Diadem. The same portrait and reverse appear on the small 10p of 1992 to 1997, so the two types differ in size and weight, not in design.

Collecting notes

Every example began life in a Royal Mint set, in uncirculated or proof finish. A worn coin has been taken out and spent, which was possible until the old-sized 10p pieces ceased to be legal tender at the end of June 1993. None can be spent now.

The Royal Mint publishes no mintage for these coins, since its figures cover circulating issues. No recognised varieties or mint errors are documented for this coin.

The date 1992 needs a second look, because both sizes exist for that year. The large coin is 28.5mm across. The small 10p of 1992 is 24.5mm and is the coin the Royal Mint's 1992 circulating figure of 1,413,455,170 belongs to. The large 1992 coin was also made as a silver proof.