5 Pence - Elizabeth II 2nd portrait Uniface Pattern (1963)
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Year | 1963 |
| Denomination | 5 Pence |
| Face value | 5p |
| Mint | Royal Mint · Llantrisant |
| Circulation | Non-circulating |
| Composition | Nickel |
| Shape | Round |
| Grade scale | UK (EF/UNC) |
Second crowned portrait of Queen Elizabeth II right, wearing the Girls of Great Britain and Ireland tiara, legend around.
Blank.
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Daily limit reachedAbout the 1963 5 Pence - Elizabeth II – Uniface Pattern
The 1963 5 Pence - Elizabeth II – Uniface Pattern is a collector 5 pence coin, struck in nickel. Reverse design: Blank.
Common questions
How much is the 1963 5 Pence - Elizabeth II – Uniface Pattern worth?
No verified sale of the 1963 5 Pence - Elizabeth II – Uniface Pattern has been logged on MyCoinage yet.
What is a uniface pattern?
A uniface is a trial piece struck on one side only, with a plain back. The Royal Mint Museum holds many such pieces, some carrying only Arnold Machin's portrait of the Queen and others only one of Christopher Ironside's reverse designs.
Was the uniface five pence ever legal tender?
No. It is a one-sided trial piece and was never issued as coin. The decimal 5p did not reach the public until April 1968, according to the Royal Mint Museum.
Is the 1963 date right for a piece with the second portrait?
It fits the museum records. The portrait pieces carry no date, but the Royal Collection dates its undated Machin uniface obverses to 1963, and the Royal Mint Museum holds two-sided patterns dated 1963 pairing Machin's portrait with Ironside's reverses.
History and design
This entry is a uniface trial piece: one side carries the Queen's portrait and the other is left blank. The Royal Mint Museum holds a run of such pieces from the preparations for decimal coinage, including plain-backed obverses with Arnold Machin's crowned portrait and plain-backed reverses by Christopher Ironside, among them a five decimal pence reverse dated 1963.
The Royal Mint says its work on decimal coin designs began in 1962, before any public announcement, and that the secrecy lasted from 1962 to 1968. The Royal Mint Museum notes that in 1962 the Deputy Master, Jack James, was already seeking a new portrait to replace Mary Gillick's. The portrait trials carry no date, but the Royal Collection dates its Machin unifaces to 1963, and the Royal Mint Museum holds two-sided patterns dated 1963 that pair Machin's portrait with Ironside's ½, 1 and 2 decimal penny reverses.
The site describes this piece as the second, crowned portrait of the Queen wearing the Girls of Great Britain and Ireland tiara, which is the portrait Machin made. The Royal Mint Museum's own Machin uniface obverses show a crowned portrait facing right. Several are cupro-nickel pieces of about 7.8g reading ELIZABETH.II D.G.REGINA.F.D. with a plain back, and the one checked in full, RMM 3104, has a plain edge. None of the Museum's Machin unifaces carries a date.
Collecting notes
A piece like this was never currency and has no face value, so it is not legal tender. Because the portrait side bears no value, nothing on the piece itself links it to the five pence; the Royal Collection's examples come in more than one size, including 2.66 cm and 2.1 cm, and one has the Royal Mint crest on its back. Sovereign Rarities has offered an undated Machin uniface as part of a boxed set lettered PATTERNS FOR THE DECIMAL CURRENCY 1963. Check the weight, size, metal and back of any example against these records.
Sources
The history, design, varieties and collecting notes on this page are drawn from these sources. Prices come from recorded sales, not from them.
- Elizabeth II uniface obverse (RMM 3104), The Royal Mint Museum, via Museum Data Service (read 10 Oct 2026)
- Elizabeth II pattern half decimal penny, 1963 (RMM 3208), The Royal Mint Museum, via Museum Data Service (read 10 Oct 2026)
- Elizabeth II 1963 pattern Uniface Decimal 8-coin Set with original box, Sovereign Rarities (read 10 Oct 2026)
- Elizabeth II uniface reverse five decimal pence, 1963 (RMM 3159), The Royal Mint Museum, via Museum Data Service (read 10 Oct 2026)
- Arnold Machin, Wikipedia (read 10 Oct 2026)
- Christopher Ironside's decimal designs, The Royal Mint (read 10 Oct 2026)
- Decimalisation, Royal Mint Museum (read 10 Oct 2026)
- Mary Gillick, Royal Mint Museum (read 10 Oct 2026)
- Elizabeth II Uniface pattern for decimal coinage, undated (RCIN 443840), Royal Collection Trust (read 10 Oct 2026)
- Elizabeth II Uniface pattern for decimal coinage, undated (RCIN 443841), Royal Collection Trust (read 10 Oct 2026)
- Elizabeth II pattern two decimal pence, 1963 (RMM 3171), The Royal Mint Museum, via Museum Data Service (read 10 Oct 2026)
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