6 Pence - George VI 3rd coinage (1949–1952)

One row for each year the 6 Pence - George VI 3rd 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. 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 1949 6 Pence - George VI 3rd coinage

The 1949 6 Pence - George VI 3rd coinage is a circulating 6 pence coin issued from 1949 to 1952, struck in copper-nickel (75% Cu, 25% Ni). It weighs 2.83g and measures 19.3mm across. Reverse design: Crowned royal cypher dividing date, legend above, denomination below.

Mintage figures are recorded for 4 years between 1949 and 1952, 115,490,200 coins in all. 1952 is the scarcest date, with 1,013,400 struck. It is no longer legal tender (withdrawn 1980), so its value is to collectors only.

Common questions

History and design

From 1949 the coinage dropped the abbreviation IND IMP, which Tony Clayton links to India becoming an independent republic, since the King was no longer Emperor of India. On the sixpence that meant a new reverse. The GRI cypher, whose I stood for Imperator, gave way to GVIR, and the legend shrank to FID DEF.

The coin stayed in cupronickel, the alloy used since 1947. Coin Hunter gives 41,335,515 for 1949, 32,741,955 for 1950 and 40,399,491 for 1951. The 1952 date is different: Tony Clayton writes that the Korean War created a demand for nickel, so no cupronickel coins dated 1952 were struck for UK circulation. A run of 1,013,477 sixpences was made for use in the West Indies, and they were only occasionally found in Britain.

The design ran until 1952, and the coin was demonetised at the end of June 1980.

The obverse is unchanged: Thomas Humphrey Paget's uncrowned portrait of George VI facing left, with GEORGIVS VI D G BR OMN REX around and HP below the neck. The Royal Mint Museum says it is almost certainly the design Paget himself regarded as his best.

The reverse shows the cypher G VI R under a crown, dividing the date, with FID DEF above and SIXPENCE below, as the Royal Collection describes its 1949 proof. Wikipedia notes that the lettering of the post-1949 coins is less angular than before. The edge is milled.

Collecting notes

The 1952 date is the one to look for. Its mintage is about one fortieth of any of the other three dates, and Tony Clayton notes that the coins went to the West Indies and were only occasionally found in British circulation. Check the last digit of the date carefully on any worn example offered as a 1952.

Proofs dated 1950 and 1951 exist: Coin Hunter gives 17,513 and 20,000, and Tony Clayton lists both. For the earlier GRI coins in the same metal, see the 1947 sixpence.

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