10 Pence - Elizabeth II 3rd portrait small type (1992–1997)

One row for each year the 10 Pence - Elizabeth II 3rd portrait – small 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 1992 10 Pence - Elizabeth II – small type

The 1992 10 Pence - Elizabeth II – small type is a circulating 10 pence coin issued from 1992 to 1997, struck in copper-nickel (75% Cu, 25% Ni). It weighs 6.5g and measures 24.5mm across. Reverse design: Part of the crest of England, a lion passant guardant royally crowned, legend above, denomination below.

Mintage figures are recorded for 6 years between 1992 and 1997, 1,674,883,086 coins in all. 1993 is the scarcest date, with 56,945 struck.

Common questions

History and design

The 10p followed the 5p down in size. After the 1987 review of the United Kingdom coinage the Government announced a smaller 10p, and the Royal Mint issued it on 30 September 1992. The old coin, the same size as the florin it had replaced, was demonetised in 1993 together with the florins that still circulated beside it.

The Royal Mint's figures list no 10p for circulation between 1981 and 1992. For 1992 they give 1,413,455,170, the highest figure for any 10p.

There is no circulating 10p dated 1993 or 1994, and the later runs were modest: 43,259,000 for 1995, 118,738,000 for 1996 and 99,196,000 for 1997. The four circulating years total 1,674,648,170.

The reverse keeps Christopher Ironside's design from the large coin: part of the crest of England, a lion passant guardant royally crowned, with TEN PENCE above and the figure 10 below. Ironside's decimal reverses first appeared in 1968 and, as the Royal Mint Museum notes, lasted 40 years.

The obverse has Raphael Maklouf's portrait of the Queen, which the Royal Mint credits on the small 10p from 1992 to 1997, with the legend ELIZABETH II D G REG F D and the date. The coin is 24.5mm across and 6.5g, in cupro-nickel (75% copper, 25% nickel) with a milled edge.

Varieties and errors

Tony Clayton documents a set of die varieties for the 1992 coin. There are two obverses: on Obverse 1 the L, I and A of ELIZABETH point to the spaces between border dots, on Obverse 2 they point at dots. On Reverse A the 1 of 10 points at a dot and the lion has four tufts under its chest; on Reverse B it points at a space and there are five tufts.

The milled edge is either a wire edge, tapering to a narrow band of reeding and used only in 1992, or a flat edge using the coin's full thickness. Clayton puts Obverse 1 with Reverse A at about 40% each for wire and flat edge and Obverse 2 with Reverse B at about 20%. Obverse 1 with Reverse B is under 1%, and Obverse 2 with Reverse A is the rarest pairing.

Collecting notes

To sort a 1992 coin, check where the L of ELIZABETH and the 1 of 10 point, then look at the edge. Clayton notes that the 1992 proof pairs Obverse 2 with Reverse B, and that circulation coins of 1995 to 1997 use Reverse A with a flat edge.

By mintage 1995 is the lowest of the four circulating years. Coins dated 1993 and 1994 come from Mint or proof sets. All are cupro-nickel and not magnetic, and they remain legal tender for amounts up to £5.

A 1992 10p at 28.5mm is the last of the large type, a set issue. The design continues with a new portrait on the crowned lion 10p of 1998 to 2008.