5 Pence - Elizabeth II 3rd portrait large type (1985–1990)

One row for each year the 5 Pence - Elizabeth II 3rd portrait – large 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. 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 1985 5 Pence - Elizabeth II – large type

The 1985 5 Pence - Elizabeth II – large type is a circulating 5 pence coin issued from 1985 to 1990, struck in copper-nickel (75% Cu, 25% Ni). It weighs 5.65g and measures 23.59mm across. Reverse design: The Badge of Scotland, a thistle royally crowned, legend above, denomination below.

Mintage figures are recorded for 6 years between 1985 and 1990, 270,818,815 coins in all. 1990 is the scarcest date, with 102,606 struck. It is no longer legal tender (withdrawn 1990), so its value is to collectors only.

Common questions

History and design

This is the final version of the original decimal 5p, the coin that began life in 1968 as the direct replacement for the shilling. It has the same size and weight as the shilling, 23.59mm and 5.65g, and the Royal Mint notes that old shillings went on circulating alongside the 5p until 1990.

In 1985 Raphael Maklouf's portrait of the Queen replaced Arnold Machin's across the coinage, which created this type. Very few of the dates reached the public. The Royal Mint's figures list no 5p at all between 1980 and 1987, and Tony Clayton's reference records the 1985, 1986 and 1990 coins as issued only in Mint and proof sets.

That leaves three circulating years: 48,220,000 dated 1987, 120,744,610 dated 1988 and 101,406,000 dated 1989, a total of 270,370,610. After a review of the coinage in 1987 the Government announced a smaller 5p, which was issued in June 1990, and the Royal Mint states that the larger coin was demonetised that year.

The reverse is Christopher Ironside's crowned thistle, formally described as the Badge of Scotland, a thistle royally crowned. FIVE PENCE runs above it and the figure 5 sits below. Ironside won the public competition for the decimal reverses, and the Royal Mint Museum records that his designs first appeared in 1968 and stayed in use for 40 years.

The obverse carries the Maklouf portrait with the legend ELIZABETH II D G REG F D and the date. The coin is cupro-nickel with a milled edge.

Collecting notes

The large 5p cannot be spent. Clayton gives the demonetisation as taking effect from 1 January 1991, and the shillings that shared its size were withdrawn at the same time.

By mintage, 1987 is the lowest of the three circulating years, and in the Royal Mint's figures it is the second lowest of all twelve large 5p dates, behind 1977 at 24,308,000. A coin dated 1985, 1986 or 1990 at this size came from a set, so it would normally be in uncirculated or proof condition.

Check the size before the date. A 1990 5p at 18mm is the small type that replaced this coin, and a large 5p reading FIVE PENCE with the older Machin portrait is the 1982 to 1984 set issue.

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