6 Pence - George V 1st coinage (1911–1920)

One row for each year the 6 Pence - George V 1st coinage 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; years with no sales yet fill in as sales are recorded. 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 1911 6 Pence - George V 1st coinage

The 1911 6 Pence - George V 1st coinage is a circulating 6 pence coin issued from 1911 to 1920, struck in 92.5% silver. It weighs 2.83g and measures 19.3mm across. Reverse design: Crowned lion passant atop crown dividing date within circle, legend above, denomination below.

Mintage figures are recorded for 10 years between 1911 and 1920, 151,051,100 coins in all. 1913 is the scarcest date, with 7,499,800 struck. It is no longer legal tender (withdrawn 1980), so its value is to collectors only.

Common questions

History and design

George V's first sixpence was struck every year from 1911 to 1920 in sterling silver, the standard the Mint had used since the 1816 recoinage. Tony Clayton notes that it introduced a new reverse of a lion standing on a crown, replacing the SIX PENCE in a wreath used under Victoria and Edward VII.

Output followed the economy. The Royal Mint Museum records that the war drove demand for silver coin sharply upward as gold vanished from circulation, and the type's highest dates are 1914, 1916 and 1918, each over 22 million. 1913 (7,499,833) and 1917 (7,725,475) are the lowest. The ten dates total about 151 million in Coin Hunter's figures.

The type ended with the 1920 debasement. Rising silver prices made sterling coin uneconomic, and the Royal Mint Museum says the Silver Coinage Act of 1920 cut the standard to 0.500, with the first new coins struck in April 1920. Wikipedia notes that sixpences of both alloys are dated 1920.

The obverse is Bertram Mackennal's bare head of George V facing left, signed BM on the truncation, with GEORGIVS V DEI GRA BRITT OMN REX. The reverse shows a lion standing on a crown, dividing the date, with FID DEF IND IMP above and SIX PENCE below. The King's titles continue from one side to the other: Defender of the Faith, Emperor of India.

Collecting notes

The 1913 and 1917 are the lowest-mintage dates and the ones to look for. Clayton says telling a sterling 1920 from a 0.500 one comes with experience, because the harder alloy strikes slightly differently; there is no mark to separate them. A 1911 proof exists from that year's proof sets.

No recognised varieties or mint errors are documented for this type. The design continued in 0.500 silver as the 1920 to 1926 sixpence. Sixpences remained legal tender as 2.5 new pence until 30 June 1980.