Angel of the North 10p (Letter A)
The Angel of the North 10p (Letter A) is a circulating A to Z 10p with 304,000 made. Value band: small premium. Here is how to recognize it, what makes one worth more and what to check on yours.
- Year
- 2018
- Circulation mintage
- 304,000
- Value band
- Small premium
- Composition
- Nickel-plated steel
Original illustration of the coin's shape and metal. Tap to flip. Not a picture of the actual design.
Face value · Small premium · Collector premium · Significant rarity. We use bands because prices change daily.
What is a Angel of the North 10p (Letter A) worth?
The A to Z 10p coins were made in small runs for circulation (220,000 dated 2018 and 84,000 dated 2019 for this letter). They were made to be collected. A circulated Angel of the North 10p brings a small premium to collectors filling a set, more for the scarcer 2019 date and more again in uncirculated condition.
What would make yours worth more:
- The scarcer 2019 date
- Uncirculated condition
- An original collector card or pack
For market prices, look at recent sold results for the same coin in the same condition, not asking prices.
Quick answers
- Is the Angel of the North 10p (Letter A) rare?
- It is scarcer than most A to Z 10p coins. Collectors pay a small premium for good examples.
- How many Angel of the North 10p (Letter A) coins were made?
- 304,000 were struck for circulation.
- What is the Angel of the North 10p (Letter A) made of?
- Nickel-plated steel. It weighs 6.5 g and measures 24.5 mm.
- Is the Angel of the North 10p (Letter A) still legal tender?
- Yes. Every A to Z 10p is legal tender in the UK at face value.
Why the Angel of the North 10p (Letter A) was made
Drive north on the A1 into Gateshead or ride the East Coast Main Line toward Newcastle and the Angel of the North fills the skyline. Antony Gormley's steel figure went up on a hill above the town in 1998. It stands 20 meters tall and its wings stretch 54 meters from tip to tip, angled slightly forward as if to wrap around the people below. It was built from weathering steel, which forms a rust-brown skin that protects the metal underneath. The site was no accident either. The Angel stands where the pithead baths of a colliery once were, a quiet salute to the generations of miners who worked under that ground.
Plenty of locals were unsure about it at first. Within a few years it had become the symbol of the North East, turning up on postcards, in adverts and in films. That made it a natural opening letter when the Royal Mint chose 26 British icons for its A to Z 10p series in 2018. A is the first coin in the alphabet and, for many people, the first one they ever spotted in their change. The Angel is also one of only a handful of designs in the set that shows a single real place you can go and stand beside.
How to recognize it
The reverse puts a bold capital A together with the outstretched figure of the Angel, so the sculpture's outline is easy to pick out even on a worn coin. Underneath the design it is a standard modern 10p: nickel-plated steel, 24.5 mm across, 6.5 g, with a milled edge. A magnet will pick it up, which is a quick way to separate it from older cupronickel 10p coins. The obverse carries Jody Clark's portrait of Queen Elizabeth II with the date beside it. Check that date. The A coin was struck as both 2018 and 2019. The year is the only thing that sets one apart from the other.
The other side carries Jody Clark's portrait of Queen Elizabeth II, introduced in 2015 and the last of her reign.
Angel of the North 10p (Letter A) by the numbers
By the numbers, the Angel of the North 10p (Letter A) ranks 6th lowest of 26 circulating A to Z 10p coins with a published mintage. The next scarcer is the Queuing 10p (Letter Q) (303,000); the next more common is the James Bond 10p (Letter B) (304,000).
It was the only circulating commemorative A to Z 10p dated 2018.
Of the 304,000 Angel of the North 10p coins, 220,000 are dated 2018 and 84,000 are dated 2019. About 2.6 coins were dated 2018 for every one dated 2019, which makes 2019 the date to look for.
What to check on your Angel of the North 10p (Letter A)
- Confirm the letter and picture: A for Angel of the North, with the date 2018 or 2019.
- Check the date. The 2019 coins had much smaller runs, so the same letter is scarcer with a 2019 date.
- Look at the surfaces under a light: coins from collector packs have unbroken luster, while change-worn coins show scuffs on the letter and design.
- Keep sets in order in a holder rather than loose; scratches on the large flat letter are easy to see.
The Royal Mint made 220,000 Angel of the North 10p coins dated 2018 and only 84,000 dated 2019. Both figures are tiny next to the run of ordinary Royal Shield 10p coins, which is why the whole series caught on. The 2019 coin is the one to hold onto. Fewer were struck, they arrived after the first wave of excitement had passed and many were pulled out of change by people already hunting the set. A 2018 coin in average condition is mostly a face value find, while a sharp 2019 example can draw a small premium.
Mintage chart
Specifications
| Country | United Kingdom |
|---|---|
| Denomination | 10 pence |
| Issuer | Royal Mint |
| Year | 2018 |
| Circulation mintage | 304,000 |
| Composition | Nickel-plated steel |
| Weight | 6.5 g |
| Diameter | 24.5 mm |
| Shape | Round |
| Edge | Milled |
| Portrait | Clark |
Other 2018 A to Z 10p coins
Frequently asked questions
How many Angel of the North 10p coins were made?
There were 220,000 struck for circulation with the 2018 date and 84,000 with the 2019 date, giving 304,000 in all. The 2019 version is the harder of the two to find in change.
Where is the Angel of the North that appears on the 10p?
It stands on a hill at Gateshead in North East England, close to the A1 and the main railway line to Newcastle. Antony Gormley's sculpture was completed in 1998 on the site of former colliery pithead baths.
Mintage figures: Ten pence (British coin) (Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0), compiled from Royal Mint figures. How we build these pages.