10 Pence - Elizabeth II 4th portrait Crowned Lion mule (2009)
"2009 10p mule"
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Year | 2009 |
| Denomination | 10 Pence |
| Face value | 10p |
| Mint | Royal Mint · Llantrisant |
| Circulation | Circulating |
| Composition | Copper-nickel (75% Cu, 25% Ni) |
| Weight | 6.500g |
| Diameter | 24.5mm |
| Thickness | 1.85mm |
| Shape | Round |
| Edge | Milled |
| Obv. artist | Ian Rank-Broadley |
| Rev. artist | Christopher Ironside |
| Grade scale | UK (EF/UNC) |
Fourth crowned portrait of Queen Elizabeth II right, wearing the Girls of Great Britain and Ireland tiara, legend around.
Part of the Crest of England, a lion passant guardant royally crowned, legend above, denomination below.
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AffiliateCrowned Lion mule 10p price history
Daily limit reachedCrowned Lion mule 10p value by grade
Realised auction prices · ⭐ Pro Expand rows for individual sale records| Grade | Latest | Median | 30d Δ | All-time range | Sales (1yr) | Total sales | Last sale | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| EF | £750.00 🔒 | £750.00 (1) | – | £750.00 – £750.00 | 0 | 1 | 06-09-2015 | |
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About the 2009 10 Pence - Elizabeth II – Crowned Lion mule
The 2009 10 Pence - Elizabeth II – Crowned Lion mule is a circulating 10 pence coin, 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.
Common questions
How much is the 2009 10 Pence - Elizabeth II – Crowned Lion mule worth?
The 2009 10 Pence - Elizabeth II – Crowned Lion mule has a price in one grade on MyCoinage so far: £750 in EF, the median of its verified sales.
What is the 2009 10p mule?
It is a 10p dated 2009 that has the old crowned lion reverse instead of the Royal Shield design introduced in 2008. A mule is a coin struck from two dies not meant to be paired. Check Your Change says a coin with this date and reverse should not exist.
How many 2009 crowned lion 10p coins exist?
Very few are known. Check Your Change says just two or three examples, and London Coins described the piece it sold in September 2015 as one of only two believed to exist. No mintage is recorded, and the Royal Mint's mintage file has no entry for it.
How do I check a 2009 10p for the error?
Look at the reverse. A normal 2009 10p shows part of the Royal Shield with TEN PENCE above. The mule shows a crowned lion with TEN PENCE above and the figure 10 below. The date 2009 is on the obverse beside the Queen's portrait in both cases.
Has the Royal Mint confirmed the 2009 10p mule?
No Royal Mint statement about it has been found. The coin is known from auction appearances and collector references. Eric Dawson, writing in The E-Sylum in 2023, said he did not believe it had been formally published and had written to the Mint about it.
How do I identify the 2009 10 Pence - Elizabeth II – Crowned Lion mule?
Check the weight 6.5g and diameter 24.5mm and the metal (copper-nickel (75% Cu, 25% Ni)) against the specification table on this page. The reverse design is described above.
History and design
In 2008 the 10p changed its reverse. Christopher Ironside's crowned lion, used since 1968, was replaced by Matthew Dent's Royal Shield design. The Royal Mint's figures show both designs dated 2008: 9,720,000 with the lion and 71,447,000 with the shield. From 2009 every 10p should have the shield, and the Mint's figure for that year is 84,360,000.
This coin breaks that rule. It is dated 2009 but has the crowned lion on the reverse. Check Your Change lists it as a mule, a mismatch of obverse and reverse dies, and says that just two or three examples are known.
Very little is documented. London Coins sold one in its September 2015 auction, described as one of only two examples believed to exist. A further sale was held by Noonans in June 2023. Writing in The E-Sylum that year, the collector Eric Dawson said he could find almost nothing published about the coin and did not think it had been formally recorded.
There is no mintage figure, and no Royal Mint statement about the coin has been found.
The reverse is the Ironside design: part of the crest of England, a lion passant guardant royally crowned, with TEN PENCE above and the figure 10 below. The Royal Mint credits Ironside with the 10p reverse from 1968 to 2008.
The obverse is the fourth portrait of Elizabeth II by Ian Rank-Broadley, dated 2009. Dawson describes it as the standard obverse for that year. The coin is the normal size for a 10p, with a milled edge.
Varieties and errors
How the mule came to be struck is not known. Dawson passes on a report, which he says he cannot confirm, that one example came from a 2008 celebration specimen set. That leaves open whether any reached circulation.
A lion 10p dated 2008 or earlier is the ordinary coin of its year and not this error. Only the 2009 date with the lion reverse counts.
Collecting notes
Checking is simple: read the date on the obverse, then turn the coin over. A 2009 date with the Royal Shield is the normal 2009 Royal Shield 10p. A 2009 date with the crowned lion is the mule.
Any claimed example needs close scrutiny, given how few are reported. Provenance to one of the recorded auction appearances would be the strongest support.
Sources
The history, design, varieties and collecting notes on this page are drawn from these sources. Prices come from recorded sales, not from them.
- UK coin mintage figures (data file), The Royal Mint (read 9 Oct 2026)
- 10p Coin Designs and Specifications, The Royal Mint (read 9 Oct 2026)
- 10p Coins in Circulation, Check Your Change (read 9 Oct 2026)
- The 2009 Ten Pence Mule Error (The E-Sylum, volume 26, number 30, article 15), Numismatic Bibliomania Society (read 9 Oct 2026)
- Decimal Ten Pence, by Tony Clayton, Coins of the UK (read 9 Oct 2026)
- Auction 150, lot 2020: Decimal Ten Pence 2009 mule with the earlier crowned lion reverse, London Coins (read 9 Oct 2026)
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