2016-04-29 Fri

A rare 1933 penny is about to go under the hammer next month at a record-breaking estimate price of £50,000. It is the rarest British coin of the 20th Century as a very few of them were minted by Royal Mint in 1933.

The Royal Mint had no plans to mint any new penny coins in 1933 as they were already in circulation in handsome numbers. But seven commemorative coins were produced to mark the year. All these coins featured the head of King George V on one side and Britannia on the other.

Three of the coins were placed under the foundation stones of important buildings that were under construction. Two were presented to the British Museum and two were with collectors. In 1960, one of the coins was stolen by thieves by removing it from a church’s cornerstone. The existence of this coin is still a mystery. Fearing another theft, the Bishop of Ripon unearthed another coin from another church’s foundation and sold it.

Four pattern prototypes of the 1933 penny were also made. One of these that is being sold by the specialist auction house Baldwin’s next month. Other pattern prototypes are with the Royal Mint or owned by private collectors. These copies were sold at impressive rates earlier.

Experts believe that the Pattern Prototype is rarer than the British 1933 currency penny.