10 Pence - Elizabeth II 5th portrait X - X Marks the Spot (2018–2019)

One row for each year the 10 Pence - Elizabeth II 5th portrait – X - X Marks the Spot 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 2018 10 Pence - Elizabeth II – X - X Marks the Spot

The 2018 10 Pence - Elizabeth II – X - X Marks the Spot is a circulating 10 pence coin issued from 2018 to 2019, struck in nickel plated steel. It weighs 6.5g and measures 24.5mm across. Reverse design: A ship and a treasure map with a letter ‘X’.

Mintage figures are recorded for 2 years between 2018 and 2019, 304,000 coins in all. 2019 is the scarcest date, with 84,000 struck.

Common questions

History and design

X is the awkward letter in any alphabet, and the Royal Mint solved it with a phrase: X marks the spot. The coin belongs to the A to Z 10p series of 26 designs, issued for circulation in 2018 as The Great British Coin Hunt: Quintessentially British A to Z and revealed on 1 March that year. The treasure map theme suits a series built around searching through change, and the Mint used this coin to point at itself. In its words, "For The Great British Coin Hunt, The Royal Mint Experience marks the spot".

The Royal Mint's circulating figures give 220,000 dated 2018 and 84,000 dated 2019, a total of 304,000. That sets the X coin apart from the three letters around it: W, Y and Z each had only 63,000 in 2019, while X kept the 84,000 shared by 21 of the 26 letters.

The reverse shows a ship and a treasure map marked with a large X. Coin Hunter describes the ship as lying off the shore of a coast.

The Royal Mint calls the phrase "steeped in mystery and unclear in origin". It gives 1813 as the first recorded use, while noting that the saying is thought to be older, and links it to pirates, treasure hunters and explorers. The Mint describes The Royal Mint Experience as the only place in the world where visitors can see UK coins being made.

The Royal Mint credits the reverse to The Royal Mint Team, although Coin Hunter names the artist as P J Lynch. The obverse has the fifth portrait of Elizabeth II by Jody Clark. The coin is nickel-plated steel with a milled edge.

Collecting notes

The X coin sits between scarcer letters in the alphabet but does not share their figures. Its 2019 mintage is 84,000, a third higher than the 63,000 of the W, Y and Z coins of that date.

No recognised varieties or mint errors are documented for this coin.

Both dates carry the same reverse, so the date on the obverse identifies the issue. The Royal Mint also sold the design as a sterling silver proof dated 2018, matching the circulating coin in weight and diameter, and in a 2019 uncirculated set of all 26 letters. See also Y, Yeoman Warder and V, Village, the other design Coin Hunter attributes to the same artist.