The florin's replacement
The 10p arrived in April 1968 alongside the 5p, nearly three years before Decimal Day. It was worth two shillings, the value of the florin, so the Royal Mint gave it the florin's size and weight: 28.5 mm across and 11.31 g of cupronickel. Florins and 10ps circulated side by side for a quarter of a century.
Christopher Ironside's reverse shows a crowned lion, part of the royal crest of England. It read NEW PENCE above the lion with a numeral 10 below until 1981. From 1982 it read TEN PENCE, when the word NEW was dropped from all British coins.
Every 10p date
| Coin | Year | Circulation mintage | Value band |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1968 10p Coin | 1968 | 336,143,250 | Face value |
| 1969 10p Coin | 1969 | 314,008,000 | Face value |
| 1970 10p Coin | 1970 | 133,571,000 | Face value |
| 1971 10p Coin | 1971 | 63,205,000 | Face value |
| 1972 10p Coin | 1972 | Collector issue | Small premium |
| 1973 10p Coin | 1973 | 152,174,000 | Face value |
| 1974 10p Coin | 1974 | 92,741,000 | Face value |
| 1975 10p Coin | 1975 | 181,559,000 | Face value |
| 1976 10p Coin | 1976 | 228,220,000 | Face value |
| 1977 10p Coin | 1977 | 59,323,000 | Face value |
| 1978 10p Coin | 1978 | Collector issue | Small premium |
| 1979 10p Coin | 1979 | 115,457,000 | Face value |
| 1980 10p Coin | 1980 | 88,650,000 | Face value |
| 1981 10p Coin | 1981 | 3,487,000 | Small premium |
| 1982 10p Coin | 1982 | Collector issue | Small premium |
| 1983 10p Coin | 1983 | Collector issue | Small premium |
| 1984 10p Coin | 1984 | Collector issue | Small premium |
| 1985 10p Coin | 1985 | Collector issue | Small premium |
| 1986 10p Coin | 1986 | Collector issue | Small premium |
| 1987 10p Coin | 1987 | Collector issue | Small premium |
| 1988 10p Coin | 1988 | Collector issue | Small premium |
| 1989 10p Coin | 1989 | Collector issue | Small premium |
| 1990 10p Coin | 1990 | Collector issue | Small premium |
| 1991 10p Coin | 1991 | Collector issue | Small premium |
| 1992 10p Coin | 1992 | 1,413,455,170 | Face value |
| 1993 10p Coin | 1993 | Collector issue | Small premium |
| 1994 10p Coin | 1994 | Collector issue | Small premium |
| 1995 10p Coin | 1995 | 43,259,000 | Face value |
| 1996 10p Coin | 1996 | 118,738,000 | Face value |
| 1997 10p Coin | 1997 | 99,196,000 | Face value |
| 1998 10p Coin | 1998 | Collector issue | Small premium |
| 1999 10p Coin | 1999 | Collector issue | Small premium |
| 2000 10p Coin | 2000 | 134,733,000 | Face value |
| 2001 10p Coin | 2001 | 129,281,000 | Face value |
| 2002 10p Coin | 2002 | 80,934,000 | Face value |
| 2003 10p Coin | 2003 | 88,118,000 | Face value |
| 2004 10p Coin | 2004 | 99,602,000 | Face value |
| 2005 10p Coin | 2005 | 69,604,000 | Face value |
| 2006 10p Coin | 2006 | 118,803,000 | Face value |
| 2007 10p Coin | 2007 | 72,720,000 | Face value |
| 2008 Old Reverse 10p Coin | 2008 | 9,720,000 | Face value |
| 2008 Shield Reverse 10p Coin | 2008 | 71,447,000 | Face value |
| 2009 10p Coin | 2009 | 84,360,000 | Face value |
| 2010 10p Coin | 2010 | 96,600,500 | Face value |
| 2011 10p Coin | 2011 | 59,603,850 | Face value |
| 2012 10p Coin | 2012 | 11,600,030 | Face value |
| 2013 10p Coin | 2013 | 320,200,750 | Face value |
| 2014 10p Coin | 2014 | 490,202,020 | Face value |
| 2015 Clark Portrait 10p Coin | 2015 | 91,900,000 | Face value |
| 2015 Rank-Broadley Portrait 10p Coin | 2015 | 119,000,000 | Face value |
| 2016 10p Coin | 2016 | 135,380,000 | Face value |
| 2017 10p Coin | 2017 | 33,300,000 | Face value |
| 2018 10p Coin | 2018 | Collector issue | Small premium |
| 2019 10p Coin | 2019 | Collector issue | Small premium |
| 2020 10p Coin | 2020 | 45,347,846 | Face value |
| 2021 10p Coin | 2021 | 71,200,000 | Face value |
| 2022 10p Coin | 2022 | 38,000,000 | Face value |
| 2023 10p Coin | 2023 | 600,000 | Small premium |
Sets only means no coins of that date were issued for circulation.
Designs and portraits
The reverse tells you the era. The portrait narrows it further: Arnold Machin to 1984, Raphael Maklouf from 1985, Ian Rank-Broadley from 1998, Jody Clark from 2015 and Martin Jennings' King Charles III from 2023.
- 1968 to 1981: Ironside's crowned lion with NEW PENCE
- 1982 to 2008: the same lion, reading TEN PENCE
- 2008 to 2022: Matthew Dent's section of the Royal Shield, with TEN PENCE in words
- 2018 and 2019: the A to Z series, 26 letter designs celebrating British icons
- 2023: a capercaillie, the large woodland grouse of the Scottish Highlands
The smaller 10p of 1992
In 1992 the Royal Mint replaced the big coin with a smaller 10p, 24.5 mm across and 6.5 g, keeping the lion design. The large 10p and the last florins ceased to be legal tender in 1993. To swap every coin in the country, 1,413,455,170 small 10ps were dated 1992, by far the largest figure for any 10p date. Large 10ps are now keepsakes. Measure before you check the date: 28.5 mm means a large coin.
Steel from 2012
The 10p moved to nickel-plated steel in 2012, a year after the 5p. Coins dated 2011 and earlier are cupronickel and ignore a magnet, while steel coins jump to it. The first steel year is also one of the scarcer modern dates, with only 11,600,030 made. The A to Z letters of 2018 and 2019 are steel too. Each letter has its own page with mintages for both years. Because those letters took the circulation role, the regular Royal Shield 10p was struck only for sets in 2018 and 2019.
The years made only for sets
The 10p has a long list of sets-only years, mostly because the huge early runs and the 1992 swap left banks well stocked for long stretches. A loose example of one of these dates came out of a broken set and draws a small premium.
- Large Machin coins: 1972, 1978 and every year from 1982 to 1984
- Large Maklouf coins: every year from 1985 to 1991
- Small Maklouf coins: 1993 and 1994
- Rank-Broadley lion coins: 1998 and 1999
- Royal Shield with the Clark portrait: 2018 and 2019
The lowest circulation dates
These are the 10ps made for change in the smallest numbers. The first two are the ones worth a real search.
- 2023 capercaillie: 600,000, the lowest of any circulation 10p
- 1981: 3,487,000, the last large coin with NEW PENCE made for change
- 2008 with the lion: 9,720,000, struck before the shield took over
- 2012: 11,600,030, the first steel 10p
- 2017: 33,300,000 and 2022: 38,000,000
Frequently asked questions
Which UK 10p coins are rare?
The 2023 capercaillie, with 600,000 made, is the scarcest circulation 10p. The large 1981 and the 2008 lion coin follow. The many sets-only dates, including 2018 and 2019 for the regular design, are also hard to find in change.
Why is there no 2018 or 2019 Royal Shield 10p in change?
In those years the Royal Mint issued the 26 A to Z letter 10ps for circulation instead. The regular Royal Shield design was struck only for collector sets, so a loose one came from a broken set.
When did the 10p get smaller?
In 1992. The new coin is 24.5 mm across and 6.5 g, against 28.5 mm and 11.31 g for the original. The large 10p and the old florins stopped being legal tender in 1993.
Is a 1992 10p rare?
No. The Royal Mint struck 1,413,455,170 small 10ps dated 1992 to replace the large coins in one go. It is the most common 10p date by a wide margin and a face value coin.
What bird is on the new 10p?
A capercaillie, a large grouse of the Scottish pine forests. It is the King's 10p design. Only 600,000 dated 2023 were struck for circulation, so it is well worth keeping if you find one.
Mintage figures from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0), compiled from Royal Mint, Royal Canadian Mint and Royal Australian Mint figures. Sources.