British Coins

Your coin is either a 1720 British Halfpenny or a Farthing, both are copper. They are almost identical other than for the diameter. The Farthing is smaller.

A British 1720 Halfpenny, circulated but still in good condition, might fetch anything from £30 to £700 GBP.

A British 1720 Farthing, circulated but still in good condition, might fetch anything from £30 to £500 GBP.

A British 1720 Farthing (milled edge), circulated but still in good condition, might fetch anything from £150 to £1,000 GBP.

A British 1720 Farthing (large letters on obverse), circulated but still in good condition, might fetch anything from £75 to £325 GBP.

A reputable coin dealer will be able to give a more accurate valuation.

NOTE - The reverse of these coins is upside down to the obverse. This is normal.

Neither Queen Elizabeth 1 or 2 had been born in 1442. Actually, there was a Queen Elizabeth in England during that period. She was the wife of Edward IV. However, there is no coinage with her likeness on it as she never ruled. Her son, the heir apparent, Edward V was the uncrowned King of England for two months before he was murdered in the Tower of London by his uncle the Duke of Gloucester who ruled as Richard III.

There are two variants of this coin each with minor differences, mostly spelling errors.

Second Issue - Date in legend

A British 1699 Halfpenny (no stop after date), circulated but still in good condition, it might fetch anything from £30 to £800 GBP.

A British 1699 Halfpenny (BRITANNIA error - "A" is an upside down "V"), circulated but still in good condition, it might fetch anything up to £225 GBP.

A British 1699 Halfpenny (GVLIEMVS error - "L" missing), circulated but still in good condition, it might fetch anything up to £225 GBP.

A British 1699 Halfpenny (BRITAN IA error - "N" missing), circulated but still in good condition, it might fetch anything up to £225 GBP.

Third Issue - Britannia with right hand on knee

A British 1699 Halfpenny, circulated but still in good condition, it might fetch anything from £30 to £800 GBP.

A British 1699 Halfpenny (stop after date), circulated but still in good condition, it might fetch anything up to £225 GBP.

A British 1699 Halfpenny (BRITANNIA error - "A" is an upside down "V"), circulated but still in good condition, it might fetch anything from £95 to £350 GBP.

A British 1699 Halfpenny (GVILEMVS error - misspelled), circulated but still in good condition, it might fetch anything up to £275 GBP.

A British 1699 Halfpenny (TERTVS error - "I" missing), circulated but still in good condition, it might fetch anything up to £275 GBP.

A British 1699 Halfpenny (no reverse stop), circulated but still in good condition, it might fetch anything up to £150 GBP.

A British 1699 Halfpenny (no stops on obverse), circulated but still in good condition, it might fetch anything from £85 to £350 GBP.

A British 1699 Halfpenny (no stops after GVLIELMVS), circulated but still in good condition, it might fetch anything from £85 to £300 GBP.

A reputable coin dealer will be able to give a more accurate valuation.

NOTE - The reverse of these coins is upside down to the obverse. This is normal.

The Bank of England One Hundred Pound note was last issued in 1943 and ceased to be legal tender in 1945.

The Bank of England has no current plans to reintroduce the One Hundred Pound note in the immediate future.

A British 197? One Pound note (Series D - green)(J. B. Page - serial 16U), uncirculated and in absolute mint condition could fetch anything up to £5 GBP. If it has been circulated but still in good condition, it might fetch anything up £2 GBP.

A reputable coin dealer will be able to give a more accurate valuation.

A Bank of England One Pound note (Chief Cashier J.Q. Hollom - Series C - green)(depending on the serial number), uncirculated and in absolute mint condition could fetch anything from £6 up to £90 GBP. If it has been circulated but still in good condition, it might fetch anything from £2 to £60 GBP.

If it has a genuine irregularity as a result of the printing process, it may get significantly more.

A reputable coin dealer will be able to give a more accurate valuation.

There is no British gold coin of 24.3 mm in diameter.

The only 1976 British coins which do not indicate their value on the coin are the 22 carat gold Sovereign coinage.

The Sovereign coin features Queen Elizabeth II on the obverse and St George and the dragon on the reverse and is 22.5 mm in diameter.

The reverse has no inscription other than the year.

The obverse has the inscription "ELIZABETH II DEI GRATIA REGINA F D".

The British "Cartwheel Penny" and "Cartwheel TwoPence" were only issued in 1797.

The Isle of Man "Cartwheel Penny" and "Cartwheel Halfpenny" were issued in 1798 and 1813.

Any of these coins in excellent condition could be considered valuable.

1919 is a common year for British pennies and the fact that its mounted in jewellery dramatically decreases its coin value. However, if it is 9K gold, the gold has value as scrap, what the exact value is though depends on the weight of the gold.

A British 1936 50% silver Shilling (George V), uncirculated and in absolute mint condition could fetch up to £22 GBP. If it has been circulated but still in good condition, it might fetch anything from £2 to £6 GBP.

The values quoted are the best possible for the best specimens in their grades, but may be significantly lower due to varying demand for the coin and the prevailing economic climate. A reputable coin dealer will be able to give a more accurate valuation based on inspection of the coin.

The British Penny has been issued in various form for well over a thousand years.

There are books with hundreds of pages giving this sort of information, so this will be very brief and very general. Also, there are Pennies that are slightly different from other Pennies minted in the same year.

The predecimal Pennies you are most likely to find would be dated 1797 to 1967.

Rest assured that the rarest and most valuable Pennies will be tucked away in museums and the collections of very wealthy collectors.

All years of issue of the British decimal New Penny and Penny are still potentially in circulation so, unless they are part of a Proof or uncirculated mint set or are individual Proof or uncirculated coins and in absolute mint condition, they are worth 1 Penny.

Elizabeth II Pennies would need to be in mint uncirculated condition to get One Pound (maybe).

The following are coins you might realistically see, and presumes that the coins are either mint uncirculated or in excellent condition.

George VI Pennies

1951, 1950, 1940

George V Pennies

1934, 1932, 1930, 1926, 1922, 1919, 1912H

Edward VII Pennies

1902 to 1910

Queen Victoria Pennies

1838 to 1901

William IV Pennies

1831, 1834, 1837

George IV Pennies

1825 to 1827

George III Pennies

1797, 1806 to 1807

A British 1987 Twenty Pence coin, uncirculated and in absolute mint condition would fetch little more than face value. A British 1987 Twenty Pence coin (Proof FDC), could fetch up to £2 GBP. Any coin with a genuine minting flaw or defect could be worth substantially more. A reputable coin dealer will be able to give a more accurate valuation.

A British 1950 cupro-nickel Halfcrown (George VI), uncirculated and in absolute mint condition could fetch up to £25 GBP. If it has been circulated but still in good condition, it might fetch up to £8 GBP.

A British 1950 cupro-nickel Halfcrown (George VI)(Proof FDC), uncirculated and in absolute mint condition could fetch up to £30 GBP.

A British 1950 cupro-nickel Halfcrown (George VI)(matt Proof FDC), is considered to be of the highest rarity.

The values quoted are the best possible for the best specimens in their grades, but may be significantly lower due to varying demand for the coin and the prevailing economic climate. A reputable coin dealer will be able to give a more accurate valuation based on inspection of the coin.

The portrait on the front (obverse) of the British £1 coin is that of Queen Elizabeth II, as is true of all British coins since 1953.

The image on the back (reverse) changes every year. Pictures of several of the designs can be found at the Related Link, below.

My guess is that you have a 1950 Two Shilling coin from South Africa. The front of the coin has the words "GEORGIVS SEXTUS REX" (Latin for "George the Sixth, King") with a portrait, and the back reads "SOUTH AFRICA - SUID AFRIKA - 2 SHILLINGS" and has the date and a shield. It measures 28.3mm in diameter and weighs 11.31 grams. It is 80% silver, giving it an ASW (Actual Silver Weight) of 0.2909 troy ounces and a melt value (as of January 13, 2010) of US$5.40. According to the Standard Catalog of World Coins, 4,945 of such coins were produced in 1950, and an example is worth US$20 in Fine condition, US$40 in Very Fine condition, US$80 in Extremely Fine condition, and US$140 in Uncirculated condition.

Alternatively, you have a 1950 Two Shilling coin from Great Britain. The front of the coin has the words "GEORGIVS VI D:G:BR:OMN:REX" (abbreviated Latin for "George the Sixth, By the grace of God, King of All Britain") with a portrait, and the back reads "FID:DEF" (abbreviated Latin for "Defender of the Faith") and "TWO SHILLINGS 1950" and has crowned Tudor rose, with a thistle and "G" on the left and a shamrock and "R" on the right. It measures 28.3mm in diameter and is made of copper-nickel. According to the Standard Catalog of World Coins, 24,357,000 of such coins were produced in 1950 (plus another 18,000 in Proof), and an example is worth US$0.20 in Fine condition, US$0.35 in Very Fine condition, US$1.00 in Extremely Fine condition, US$20.00 in Uncirculated condition, and US$25.00 in Proof.

The larger (28.5 mm) pre-1993 10 Pence coins were withdrawn from circulation and demonetised in 1993. So, unless they are part of a Proof or uncirculated mint set or are individual Proof or uncirculated coins and in absolute mint condition, they have little or no value.

A British 1980 cupro-nickel 10 New Pence coin (Elizabeth II), uncirculated and in absolute mint condition could fetch up to £0.75 GBP.

A British 1980 cupro-nickel 10 New Pence coin (Elizabeth II)(Proof FDC), uncirculated and in absolute mint condition could fetch up to £1 GBP.

A reputable coin dealer will be able to give a more accurate valuation.

The British Crown (Five Shillings) was minted in silver. 1894 was not a year of any great significance for Queen Victoria.

These coins are still potentially in circulation so, unless they are part of a Proof or uncirculated mint set or are individual Proof or uncirculated coins and in absolute mint condition, they are worth 1 Penny.

A British 2000 copper plated steel Penny (Elizabeth II)(Proof FDC), could fetch up to £3 GBP.

A reputable coin dealer will be able to give a more accurate valuation.

1892 was not Queen Victoria's Jubilee year.

1887 was Queen Victoria's Golden Jubilee year (50 years).

The only relevance of the term Jubilee is that most gold and silver coins minted during the period 1887 to 1893 had what is referred to as the Jubilee Bust of Queen Victoria on the obverse.

What is the denomination of your coin, what is the design on the reverse, what is it made from and what is the diameter?

A British 1912 bronze Penny (George V), uncirculated and in absolute mint condition could fetch up to £55 GBP. If it has been circulated but still in good condition, it might fetch anything from £3 to £18 GBP.

A British 1912 bronze Penny (George V)(minted at Heaton - mintmark = H), uncirculated and in absolute mint condition could fetch up to £250 GBP. If it has been circulated but still in good condition, it might fetch anything from £10 to £90 GBP.

There were no British 1912 Pennies minted at King's Norton (KN).

The values quoted are the best possible for the best specimens in their grades, but may be significantly lower due to varying demand for the coin and the prevailing economic climate. A reputable coin dealer will be able to give a more accurate valuation based on inspection of the coin.

These coins are still potentially in circulation so, unless they are part of a Proof or Uncirculated mint set or are individual Proof or Uncirculated coins and in absolute mint condition, they are worth Two Pence in Guernsey.

The Bailiwick of Guernsey currency (GGY) is pegged at par with the British Pound Sterling (GBP) and the Guernsey decimal coinage is near identical in dimensions, composition and history to the equivalent British coins. Guernsey currency is "legal tender" only in Guernsey, but may be regarded as "acceptable tender" in Britain.

There are 11, possibly more, variants of this coin depending on where it was minted and the small variations to the obverse and reverse designs, so the following is a very broad estimate.

A British 1861 bronze Halfpenny (Victoria), uncirculated and in absolute mint condition could fetch up to £325 GBP. If it has been circulated but still in good condition, it might fetch anything from £2 to £100 GBP.

A British 1861 Halfpenny (HALP error)(Victoria), circulated but still in good condition, might fetch anything from £200 to £500 GBP.

The values quoted are the best possible for the best specimens in their grades, but may be significantly lower due to varying demand for the coin and the prevailing economic climate. A reputable coin dealer will be able to give a more accurate valuation based on inspection of the coin.

Look for a small letter below the eagle's tail feathers.

If it has an "S", its retail value would be in excess of $1000.

If it has "CC", double that amount

If there is no letter, you should have the coin authenticated by at least two certified dealers to determine whether it is counterfeit or not. Actually, with a minimum value of around $1000 you should have the coin appraised in any case, but the 1882 no mint mark issue is a key date.

A British 1962 22 carat gold Sovereign (Elizabeth II), uncirculated and in absolute mint condition could fetch up to £225 GBP. If it has been circulated but still in good condition, bullion value.

The values quoted are the best possible for the best specimens in their grades, but may be significantly lower due to varying demand for the coin and the prevailing economic climate. A reputable coin dealer will be able to give a more accurate valuation based on inspection of the coin.

Your coin is either a Guernsey 8 Doubles or a 4 Doubles coin.

A Guernsey 1949 bronze Eight Doubles coin (minted at Heaton - mintmark = H), uncirculated and in absolute mint condition could fetch up to £15 GBP. If it has been circulated but still in good condition, it might fetch anything from £1 to £5 GBP.

There were 230,000 minted.

A Guernsey 1949 bronze Four Doubles coin (minted at Heaton - mintmark = H), uncirculated and in absolute mint condition could fetch up to £15 GBP. If it has been circulated but still in good condition, it might fetch anything from £1 to £5 GBP.

There were 19,200 minted.

The values quoted are the best possible for the best specimens in their grades, but may be significantly lower due to varying demand for the coin and the prevailing economic climate. A reputable coin dealer will be able to give a more accurate valuation based on inspection of the coin.