The 1933 Penny: Britain's Rarest Modern Coin

Q: How many 1933 pennies were made?

For circulation, none. The Royal Mint had surplus 1932-dated penny stock and judged the country had enough small change, so no 1933 pennies were struck for general issue. A tiny number were produced for two specific purposes: three to seven proof / specimen pieces retained by the Royal Mint and a small set of foundation-stone burial pieces (struck specifically to be sealed inside cornerstones of new buildings opened in 1933, the symbolic "buried with the building" tradition that ran through the 1920s and 1930s). Best estimates put total surviving population at under ten, with three confirmed in museum collections and three more known to be physically buried in cornerstones.

Q: How much does a 1933 penny sell for at auction?

The most recent confirmed public auction sale was £72,000 at Heritage Auctions in 2020 for a circulated example. Higher figures have been quoted privately and at earlier auctions: a 1933 penny realised £72,500 at Spink in 2016, and £83,000+ in private treaty sales. The "Lavrillier pattern" 1933 penny (a related-but-different design by André Lavrillier, of which only a handful exist) trades in a similar range. Top-grade specimens with proof finish would likely exceed £100,000 if offered.

Q: Where are the known 1933 pennies now?

Three are in museum collections: the Royal Mint Museum (Llantrisant), the British Museum (London), and the University of London Institute of Numismatics. Two to four are in private collections, occasionally appearing at auction. Three more are confirmed buried under foundation stones: the Church of St Cross at Middleton in Leeds (the foundation stone was broken into in 1970 and the coin stolen; never resurfaced), the Senate House of the University of London, and the BBC Broadcasting House extension. Of these three burial sites, only the Senate House and BBC Broadcasting House coins remain securely in situ.

Q: How do I tell a real 1933 penny from a fake?

Five tests: (1) weight — 9.4 g ± 0.1 g; significantly off and it's a counterfeit cast or alloy substitution. (2) diameter — 31 mm; cast counterfeits typically run 0.2–0.4 mm undersize. (3) edge — should be plain and uniform; cast fakes show seam lines. (4) obverse portrait — the George V "small head" portrait by Bertram Mackennal; counterfeits often show subtle differences in the bow knot ribbon and the diadem detail. (5) date "3" digit — both 3s should match the typeface of the 1932/1934 dies exactly. Reworked dates always show tooling marks under 10x magnification. For any specimen claimed to be genuine, send to a third-party grader (PCGS, NGC, or CGS UK) before paying any meaningful sum.

Fewer than ten exist. Three are buried under building foundations. Three more are in museums. When one does surface at auction, it sells for more than the price of a terraced house. The 1933 George V penny is the most famous single British coin of the 20th century, and almost any "1933 penny" you encounter on the open market is either a counterfeit or a reworked 1932 with the date altered.

Last updated: 6 June 2026

George V bronze penny reverse, the same Britannia design used on the legendary 1933 penny — **George V bronze penny reverse.** The Britannia reverse used across the entire George V penny series 1911–1936 — including the legendary 1933 issue, of which fewer than ten authentic examples are known to exist.

In brief. No 1933 pennies were struck for circulation — the Royal Mint had surplus 1932 stock. Around seven specimens were produced for proof / foundation-stone purposes; surviving population is estimated at under ten. Three are in museums (Royal Mint Museum, British Museum, University of London), three are buried under cornerstones in Leeds, Senate House and BBC Broadcasting House, and the rest are privately held. Last public auction sale: £72,000 at Heritage Auctions in 2020. Genuine specimens weigh 9.4 g and measure 31 mm. Anything claiming to be a 1933 penny found in change is virtually certain to be fake.

Why no 1933 pennies were struck

The Great Depression had hit Britain hard by 1932–33. Demand for low-denomination coins collapsed because consumer spending collapsed. The Royal Mint had built substantial penny stock from the high-mintage years of 1928 (50 million pennies), 1929 (49 million), 1930 (29 million), 1931 (24 million) and 1932 (53 million). With 200+ million pennies in circulation and demand soft, the Royal Mint concluded it had no operational need to strike additional pennies in 1933.

The decision was internal to the Royal Mint and not announced publicly. Coins dated 1934 (43 million), 1935 (39 million) and onward resumed normal mintage as the Depression-era stockpile gradually depleted. From a circulation perspective, 1933 was simply skipped.

Why any 1933 pennies exist at all

Two specific purposes required the Royal Mint to strike a small number of dies-active 1933 pennies:

Proof / specimen pieces. The Royal Mint maintained an internal practice of striking proof pieces of every denomination for each year, even in years when no general circulation issue was made. These were retained for the Royal Mint Museum collection and occasionally as presentation gifts. Estimated three to four specimens were struck this way for 1933.
Foundation-stone burial pieces. A long-standing tradition (active through the 19th and 20th centuries) involved sealing newly-struck coins of the year inside the cornerstone of any major new building. The Royal Mint produced a tiny number of 1933 pennies specifically for this purpose: known burials include the Church of St Cross at Middleton, Leeds, the University of London Senate House, and the BBC Broadcasting House extension. Estimated three to four specimens were buried this way.

Total estimated original production: seven to ten 1933 pennies. With the buried specimens irrecoverable (except in the Leeds case, where the cornerstone was broken into in 1970 and the coin stolen), the population of 1933 pennies actually available for trade is closer to four to six.

Known specimens and their locations

Specimen	Location	Status
Royal Mint specimen #1	Royal Mint Museum, Llantrisant	On display
British Museum specimen	British Museum, London	Held by Coins & Medals Department
University of London specimen	Institute of Numismatics	Held; not regularly displayed
Foundation-stone burial	Church of St Cross, Middleton, Leeds	Stolen 1970, never recovered
Foundation-stone burial	Senate House, University of London	In situ
Foundation-stone burial	BBC Broadcasting House extension	In situ
Private collection #1	UK private holding	Last surfaced 2020 at Heritage
Private collection #2	UK / international	Last surfaced 2016 at Spink
Private collection #3 (disputed)	Unknown	Believed to exist; never publicly sold

Auction realisations: prices over time

Year	Sale price	Auction house	Notes
2020	£72,000	Heritage Auctions	Circulated specimen, US auction
2016	£72,500	Spink	UK auction
2009	£57,000	Baldwin\'s	UK auction, slabbed
2004	£30,000+	Spink	UK auction
1996	£15,500	Spink	UK auction

The price has approximately doubled per decade since the 1990s. Private treaty sales are reported in the £80,000–£120,000 range over the same period for top-grade specimens.

The Lavrillier pattern: a related rarity

In 1933 the Royal Mint also commissioned French sculptor André Lavrillier to design a pattern penny as a possible new design direction. A small number of Lavrillier 1933 pattern pennies were struck (estimated four to six). The Lavrillier shows a different, sculptural portrait of George V on the obverse and a redesigned Britannia reverse with cleaner relief.

Surviving Lavrillier 1933 pennies trade at £30,000–£80,000 at auction — significant but somewhat below the standard 1933 penny because the market treats them as a distinct numismatic category rather than as a "1933 penny" in the headline sense. They do, however, have provenance that can be traced cleanly back to the Royal Mint.

Authentication: how to tell a real 1933 penny from a fake

Almost every "1933 penny" on the open market is fake. Five tests catch most counterfeits:

Weight. 9.4 g ± 0.1 g. Cast counterfeits typically run 0.2–0.5 g light.
Diameter. 31 mm. Casts shrink 0.2–0.4 mm.
Edge. Plain edge, sharp and uniform. Cast counterfeits show a faint horizontal seam line where the two halves of the mould met.
The "3" digit. The two 3s should match the typeface of the genuine 1932/1934 dies exactly. The most common counterfeit is a reworked 1932 with the 2 altered to a 3 (or 1938 with the 8 altered). Under 10x loupe, look for tooling marks: micro-scratches running parallel to the digit edges, slight depressions where metal was cut away, or unusual letter spacing relative to the field.
Portrait detail. The George V "small head" portrait by Bertram Mackennal has very specific high-relief details on the diadem, ribbons and bow knot. Counterfeits, especially cast ones, lose detail in these areas. Compare against a known-genuine 1932 or 1934 reference photo.

If you think you have a genuine 1933 penny. Don't clean it. Don't handle the surfaces. Send it to a third-party grading service for authentication and encapsulation: CGS UK, NGC or PCGS. Fees of £30–£60 are negligible against a £70,000+ realisation. If authentic, work with a major auction house (Spink, Baldwin's, Noonans, Heritage) for the sale; it's not a coin to put on eBay.

Year	Why scarce	Typical value
1922 Type II obverse	Rare obverse variant of an otherwise common year	£500–£2,000
1932 in MS-65	High-grade survivor of a high-mintage year	£50–£120
1934 in PR-65 proof	Pattern / specimen striking	£100–£250
1950	Struck for colonial export only, very few in UK	£25–£100
1951	Same as 1950	£30–£120
1954 pattern	Experimental issue	£10,000+
1860 "Bun Head" pattern	Pattern striking; mintage tiny	£3,000–£15,000

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Buying high-grade George V pennies on eBay

The links below open eBay UK searches; if you buy through them, MyCoinage earns a small commission at no cost to you. We only link to coins we'd genuinely buy ourselves.

Genuine 1933 pennies don't trade on eBay — they appear once a decade at Spink or Heritage and sell for £70,000+. What does trade on eBay are the companion-year pennies, slabbed proofs and the related rarities. If you're building a George V penny collection or want a high-grade representative example without the 1933 price tag, these are the searches that matter.

George V slabbed pennies (sold) ↗ 1932 penny UNC ↗ 1934 penny proof ↗ 1922 penny (Type II hunt) ↗ 1950 colonial-export penny ↗ 1951 colonial-export penny ↗ 1860 Bun Head varieties (sold) ↗ George V penny date sets ↗

If you see a "1933 penny" listed under £500 on eBay, it is virtually certain to be a counterfeit or a date-altered 1932 / 1936. Do not buy. The few genuine specimens that change hands do so through Spink, Baldwin's, Noonans or Heritage with full provenance documentation — never on a marketplace.

Frequently asked questions

How many 1933 pennies were made?

For circulation, none. The Royal Mint had surplus 1932-dated penny stock and judged the country had enough small change, so no 1933 pennies were struck for general issue. A tiny number were produced for two specific purposes: three to seven proof / specimen pieces retained by the Royal Mint and a small set of foundation-stone burial pieces (struck specifically to be sealed inside cornerstones of new buildings opened in 1933, the symbolic "buried with the building" tradition that ran through the 1920s and 1930s). Best estimates put total surviving population at under ten, with three confirmed in museum collections and three more known to be physically buried in cornerstones.

Why was no 1933 penny minted for circulation?

The Great Depression sharply reduced demand for low-denomination coinage. The Royal Mint had built up surplus penny stock from the high-mintage years of 1928–32 (each year over 50 million pennies struck) and concluded it had enough inventory to meet 1933 circulation demand without striking new coins. The decision was internal and not announced publicly. Pennies dated 1934, 1935 and so on resumed normal mintage as Depression-era stockpiles cleared.

How much does a 1933 penny sell for at auction?

The most recent confirmed public auction sale was £72,000 at Heritage Auctions in 2020 for a circulated example. Higher figures have been quoted privately and at earlier auctions: a 1933 penny realised £72,500 at Spink in 2016, and £83,000+ in private treaty sales. The "Lavrillier pattern" 1933 penny (a related-but-different design by André Lavrillier, of which only a handful exist) trades in a similar range. Top-grade specimens with proof finish would likely exceed £100,000 if offered.

Where are the known 1933 pennies now?

Three are in museum collections: the Royal Mint Museum (Llantrisant), the British Museum (London), and the University of London Institute of Numismatics. Two to four are in private collections, occasionally appearing at auction. Three more are confirmed buried under foundation stones: the Church of St Cross at Middleton in Leeds (the foundation stone was broken into in 1970 and the coin stolen; never resurfaced), the Senate House of the University of London, and the BBC Broadcasting House extension. Of these three burial sites, only the Senate House and BBC Broadcasting House coins remain securely in situ.

Could I find one in change?

Statistically, no. The seven-or-so surviving non-buried 1933 pennies are all accounted for in private and museum collections; they don't circulate. The 1933 appearance, however, is one of the most-faked of any British coin. Any "1933 penny" found in a coin roll, dealer junk box, eBay listing under £500 or estate clearance is virtually certain to be either an outright counterfeit or a 1930s coin with an altered date (typically a 1932 with the 2 reworked into a 3, or a 1936 with the 6 reworked into a 3). Genuine examples weigh 9.4 g and measure 31 mm in diameter.

How do I tell a real 1933 penny from a fake?

Five tests: (1) weight — 9.4 g ± 0.1 g; significantly off and it's a counterfeit cast or alloy substitution. (2) diameter — 31 mm; cast counterfeits typically run 0.2–0.4 mm undersize. (3) edge — should be plain and uniform; cast fakes show seam lines. (4) obverse portrait — the George V "small head" portrait by Bertram Mackennal; counterfeits often show subtle differences in the bow knot ribbon and the diadem detail. (5) date "3" digit — both 3s should match the typeface of the 1932/1934 dies exactly. Reworked dates always show tooling marks under 10x magnification. For any specimen claimed to be genuine, send to a third-party grader (PCGS, NGC, or CGS UK) before paying any meaningful sum.

What about the Lavrillier pattern 1933 penny?

In 1933 the Royal Mint also commissioned French sculptor André Lavrillier to design a pattern penny as a possible new design. A handful (estimated 4–6) were struck. The Lavrillier 1933 penny shows a different, cleaner portrait of George V on the obverse and a redesigned Britannia reverse, and is typically described as more sculptural than the standard Mackennal design. Surviving Lavrillier patterns trade in the £30,000–£80,000 range when they appear at auction, somewhat less than the standard 1933 penny because they're recognised as a separate (and rarer) numismatic category.

Are 1932 and 1934 pennies valuable too?

Far less, but yes for high-grade specimens. 1932 pennies had a mintage of 53 million; 1934 had 31 million. Both common in circulated grade at £1–£3, but unciroculated 1932 examples (with full original lustre) command £30–£80, and 1934 PR-65 specimens have realised £100–£200 at auction. Neither approaches the rarity of 1933, but they're the closest companion pieces in any "George V penny" collection.

Has the 1933 penny ever been stolen or lost?

Yes — multiple times. The Leeds Church of St Cross foundation-stone penny was stolen in 1970 when the cornerstone was broken into; the coin has never been recovered and is presumed dispersed into private hands or melted. A second incident: a 1933 penny from a private collection was stolen in a 1980s burglary and never traced. The Royal Mint Museum and British Museum specimens are kept under museum-grade security and have never been at risk. The discrepancy between "fewer than ten exist" and "specimens that may exist undeclared in private hands" is one of the most-debated topics in British numismatics.

Can I see a real 1933 penny in person?

Yes, at the Royal Mint Museum in Llantrisant or the British Museum in London. The Royal Mint Museum specimen is part of their permanent display; the British Museum specimen is not always on public exhibition but can be viewed by appointment with the Department of Coins and Medals. Both museums publish detailed photographs online if you want to study the specifics before any in-person comparison.

Are there any other "missing year" British pennies?

Yes, but none as famous. 1922 pennies exist with two different obverses (Type I and Type II), making the rarer Type II a sought-after variant at £500–£2,000. 1950 and 1951 pennies were struck only for export to British colonies and don't appear in UK circulation; specimens trade at £25–£100. 1954 patterns were experimental issues; a small number exist and trade at £10,000+. None come close to 1933 in either fame or price.

Resources and further reading

Royal Mint Museum — the most authoritative reference on Royal Mint history, including the 1933 penny's production records.
British Museum: Department of Coins and Medals — holds one of the three museum 1933 pennies; viewing by appointment.
British Numismatic Society — the *British Numismatic Journal* has published several papers on the 1933 penny's production and provenance.
Spink — the auction house with the most 1933-penny sale history in their archives.
Heritage Auctions — venue for the most recent confirmed 2020 sale.
Baldwin\'s and Noonans — alternative UK auction venues for high-rarity British coins.
Predecimal.com — the British Coin Forum. Long discussion threads on 1933-penny authentication and provenance.
Rare UK Coins List — the headline rarities by realised auction price.
UK Coin Errors List — mint mistakes and their realised values.
Coin Grading Guide — the prerequisite for understanding pricing decisions.