2023 10p Coin
The 2023 10p is a 10p coin struck for circulation with 600,000 made. Value band: small premium. Here is how to recognize it, what makes one worth more and what to check on yours.
- Year
- 2023
- Circulation mintage
- 600,000
- 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 2023 10p worth?
At 600,000, the 2023 10p has a smaller run than most 10p coins, so collectors pay a small premium for it, especially in uncirculated condition. Well circulated examples sit close to face value.
What would make yours worth more:
- Uncirculated condition
- A sets-only date
- A genuine mint error
For market prices, look at recent sold results for the same coin in the same condition, not asking prices.
Quick answers
- Is the 2023 10p rare?
- It is scarcer than most 10p coins. Collectors pay a small premium for good examples.
- How many 2023 10p coins were made?
- 600,000 were struck for circulation.
- What is the 2023 10p made of?
- Nickel-plated steel. It weighs 6.5 g and measures 24.5 mm.
- Is the 2023 10p still legal tender?
- Yes. The current-size 10p is legal tender, for payments of up to 5 pounds in 5p and 10p coins.
The 2023 10p coin in context
The first 10p of King Charles III is dated 2023 and shows a capercaillie, the great grouse of Scotland's pine forests. It belongs to a series of new reverses that replaced Matthew Dent's shield pieces with wildlife and plants of the United Kingdom, chosen to reflect the King's long interest in nature. On the 10p the choice of a bird that has become rare in Britain gives the coin a quiet conservation message. It is also the first regular 10p since 2008 to show an animal, after forty years of the crowned lion and fifteen of the shield.
The mintage is tiny. Only 600,000 were struck for circulation, the lowest figure for any regular 10p date, smaller even than the 3,487,000 of 1981. In 2022 the Mint had made 38,000,000 Queen Elizabeth II 10ps. There was little need for more, since billions of older 10ps were already in use and cash payments had fallen steeply. New coins are released only as banks and post offices ask for them, so the King's 10p has trickled out slowly.
How to recognize it
Martin Jennings's portrait shows the King facing left and bareheaded, the opposite of the Queen's right-facing portraits, with CHARLES III D G REX F D and the date. The capercaillie design on the reverse is credited to the Royal Mint. Physically the coin is unchanged from the Queen's steel 10ps: 24.5 mm, 6.5 g, nickel-plated steel with a milled edge, so it is magnetic and works in every machine. The two portraits will share purses and tills for years to come, since all the Queen's small 10ps remain legal tender. A 2022 Queen coin beside a 2023 King coin shows the change of reign at a glance.
The other side carries Martin Jennings' portrait of King Charles III, first used in 2022.
2023 10p by the numbers
Measured by how many were made, the 2023 10p is the lowest of 40 10p dates and varieties from 1968 to 2023. The next more common is the 1981 10p (3.49 million).
Compared with the dates around it, the 2023 output was 63 times fewer than 2022.
Over the 2020s the Mint produced 155.1 million 10p coins across 4 dates and varieties; the 2023 10p accounts for 0.4% of that.
What to check on your 2023 10p
- Confirm the date. Most dates are common, so the date and any variety decide whether a coin is worth setting aside.
- Try a magnet: 2023 10p coins are nickel-plated steel and stick to it.
- 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.
With only 600,000 made for circulation, the capercaillie 10p is the one modern 10p most people have never seen in change. That alone makes it worth keeping if you find one. Collectors want bright, barely handled coins, which carry a collector premium over face value. Worn examples still draw interest because the date is so scarce. Keep any you find dry and away from other coins that might scratch the plating. Even a lightly worn capercaillie is likely to stay one of the hardest modern 10ps to find for some time.
King Charles III and the capercaillie (2023)
Queen Elizabeth II died in September 2022, ending a reign that had covered every year of the 10p's life. The first 10p of King Charles III is dated 2023. Martin Jennings modeled the new portrait, which shows the King bareheaded and facing left, the opposite way to the Queen, as tradition demands at each change of reign. The legend reads CHARLES III D G REX F D with the date. The reverse designs changed at the same time, moving away from heraldry to the wildlife and plants of the United Kingdom.
The 10p shows a capercaillie, a huge woodland grouse found in the old pine forests of the Scottish Highlands. It is the largest grouse in the world and has become rare in Britain, so its place on the coin also draws attention to conservation. The design is credited to the Royal Mint. The coin itself is unchanged: nickel-plated steel, 24.5 mm and 6.5 g, magnetic and milled, so it works in every machine that takes the Queen's 10ps.
Only 600,000 of the 2023 10p were struck for circulation, the smallest figure of any regular 10p date and a tiny fraction of the 38,000,000 made in 2022. Britain already had billions of 10ps in use and cash payments had fallen a long way, so the Royal Mint issues new coins only as banks need them. That makes the capercaillie 10p an unusual sight in change for now. If you find one, keep it. Bright, barely handled coins are the ones collectors want, though even a worn example is a good find given how few went out.
Mintage chart
Specifications
| Country | United Kingdom |
|---|---|
| Denomination | 10 pence |
| Issuer | Royal Mint |
| Year | 2023 |
| Circulation mintage | 600,000 |
| Composition | Nickel-plated steel |
| Weight | 6.5 g |
| Diameter | 24.5 mm |
| Shape | Round |
| Edge | Milled |
| Portrait | Jennings |
Frequently asked questions
Why is the 2023 10p so hard to find?
Only 600,000 were issued for circulation, against tens of millions in most years. With plenty of older 10ps in use and less cash changing hands, few new coins have been needed, so the King's 10p is still a rare sight in change.
What bird is on the new 10p?
A capercaillie, the largest member of the grouse family. It lives in the old pine forests of the Scottish Highlands and has become one of Britain's rarer birds, which is part of why it was chosen.
Mintage figures: Ten pence (British coin) (Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0), compiled from Royal Mint figures. How we build these pages.