4 Pence - George V 2nd Maundy issue (1921–1927)

One row for each year the 4 Pence - George V 2nd Maundy 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. 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 1921 4 Pence - George V 2nd Maundy issue

The 1921 4 Pence - George V 2nd Maundy issue is a collector 4 pence coin issued from 1921 to 1927 in the Maundy Money series, struck in 50% silver. It weighs 1.89g and measures 18mm across. Reverse design: Crowned denomination dividing date within oak wreath.

A mintage of 1,542 is recorded for one date of this type; figures for each year are not held.

Common questions

History and design

Maundy money is struck for the Royal Maundy service held on the Thursday before Easter, when the monarch's purses of silver pence are given to elderly recipients. The Royal Mint Museum explains that the white purse holds as many pence as the monarch has years, made up from fourpences, threepences, twopences and pennies.

This second George V type exists because of the 1920 debasement. The Royal Mint Museum records that wartime silver prices made sterling coinage uneconomic, and the Silver Coinage Act of 1920 cut the standard to 0.500. Wikipedia dates the change for Maundy coins to 1921, and Tony Clayton's value list puts the 50% silver Maundy type at 1921 to 1927. The fourpence kept the original portrait throughout.

Mintages stayed small because sets had been restricted to recipients and officials since 1909. CoinVarieties records 1,635 fourpences for 1923.

The obverse is Bertram Mackennal's bare-headed portrait of George V facing left, with his initials BM on the truncation according to TreasureRealm. This is the original effigy; Clayton places the modified Maundy effigy from 1928.

The reverse is the traditional crowned numeral 4 dividing the date within an oak wreath. Wikipedia credits it to Jean Baptiste Merlen in 1822, with the crown revised by Leonard Charles Wyon in 1888.

Collecting notes

Maundy fourpences are usually collected in four-coin sets. CoinVarieties notes that most sets were kept by their recipients, so the coins are more available than their mintages suggest. Check for toning, edge knocks and mounting marks rather than wear.

The 50% silver coins look the same as the sterling ones, so the date is the guide: 1920 and earlier is sterling. No recognised varieties or mint errors are documented for this coin. The 1928 to 1936 Maundy fourpence carries the modified portrait.