1978 10p Coin

Quick answers

Is the 1978 10p rare?

It is scarcer than most 10p coins. It was never issued into circulation, so most examples are in collector packs.

How many 1978 10p coins were made?

None were made for circulation. The Mint sold this design only in packs and sets.

What is the 1978 10p made of?

Cupronickel (75% copper, 25% nickel). It weighs 11.31 g and measures 28.5 mm.

Is the 1978 10p still legal tender?

No. The original large 10p stopped being legal tender in 1993, after the smaller coin arrived in 1992. Collectors still keep scarce dates.

How to recognize it

The other side carries Arnold Machin's portrait of Queen Elizabeth II, used on UK coins from 1968 to 1984.

The 1978 10p is round, 28.5 mm across and cupronickel (75% copper, 25% nickel).

1978 10p by the numbers

No 1978 10p coins were struck for circulation, so none were paid out by banks. For comparison, nearby circulation dates were 1975 10p (181.6 million), 1976 10p (228.2 million), 1977 10p (59.3 million), 1979 10p (115.5 million), 1980 10p (88.7 million) and 1981 10p (3.49 million).

What to check on your 1978 10p

• Confirm the date. 1978 10p coins came only from collector sets, so a genuine one is often in very good condition.
• Try a magnet: cupronickel 10p coins like this 1978 coin do not stick, while the steel coins of later years do.
• Look at the surfaces under a light. Coins from sets have unbroken luster and color; change-worn coins are dull and scuffed.
• Never clean it. Rubbing or dipping strips the original color and leaves fine scratches.

The large crowned lion with NEW PENCE (1968 to 1981)

The 10p went into circulation on 23 April 1968 together with the 5p, nearly three years before Britain went decimal on 15 February 1971. It was built as a twin of the florin, the two shilling piece first struck in Victorian times. The new coin matched it exactly at 28.5 mm, 11.31 g and cupronickel, so a 10p could be spent as two shillings before Decimal Day and as ten new pence after it. Florins themselves stayed legal tender alongside the 10p until 1993, so the two shared tills for a quarter of a century.

Christopher Ironside's reverse shows a crowned lion with its head turned to face you, part of the crest of England. NEW PENCE runs above it and a large 10 below. The obverse carries Arnold Machin's portrait of the Queen in a tiara with ELIZABETH II D G REG F D and the date. The alloy is 75% copper and 25% nickel and the edge is milled. At more than 11 g it was a heavy coin even then. A pocketful of them was a real weight.

Demand swung wildly. The launch years of 1968 and 1969 each passed 300 million, but 1972 and 1978 were made only for sets and 1981 dropped to just 3,487,000, the lowest circulation figure of any large 10p. That date is the one to look for. Large 10ps stopped being legal tender in 1993, less than a year after the smaller coin arrived, so none can be spent today. They survive in jars, drawers and old collections, where the crown and mane of the lion are the first places to show wear. Bright, unworn coins of any date are far harder to find than worn ones.

Mintage chart

Specifications