1988 1p Coin

Quick answers

Is the 1988 1p rare?

No. 793.5 million were made, so circulated examples are worth face value.

How many 1988 1p coins were made?

793,492,000 were struck for circulation.

What is the 1988 1p made of?

Bronze (97% copper, 2.5% zinc, 0.5% tin). It weighs 3.56 g and measures 20.32 mm.

Is the 1988 1p still legal tender?

Yes. The 1p is legal tender, though 1p and 2p coins together only have to be accepted for payments up to 20p.

How to recognize it

The other side carries Raphael Maklouf's portrait of Queen Elizabeth II, used from 1985 to 1997.

The 1988 1p is round, 20.32 mm across and bronze (97% copper, 2.5% zinc, 0.5% tin).

1988 1p by the numbers

Measured by how many were made, the 1988 1p ranks 46th lowest of 51 1p dates and varieties from 1971 to 2023. The next scarcer is the 1998 1p (739.8 million); the next more common is the 1994 1p (843.8 million).

For scale, the most common is the 1971 1p with 1.52 billion, about 1.9 times as many. The scarcest is the 2023 1p with 600,000, 1322 times fewer than this one.

Compared with the dates around it, the 1988 output was 1.6 times the 1987 figure and 1.2 times the 1989 figure.

Over the 1980s the Mint produced 3.74 billion pennies across 10 dates and varieties; the 1988 1p accounts for 21% of that.

What to check on your 1988 1p

• Confirm the date. Most dates are common, so the date and any variety decide whether a coin is worth setting aside.
• Try a magnet: bronze 1p coins do not stick to it. A coin that sticks is copper-plated steel from 1992 or later, so read the date again.
• 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.

Bronze ONE PENNY (1982 to 1991)

In 1982 the word NEW was dropped from every British coin. Eleven years after Decimal Day nobody needed reminding that the money was different. The 20p that appeared that year never carried NEW at all. The penny's lettering was changed to ONE PENNY above the portcullis, with the numeral 1 still below. Nothing else about the design moved, so the wording is the fastest way to tell a 1970s penny from a 1980s one without even reading the date.

Portraits changed partway through this period. Arnold Machin's effigy stayed on the penny until 1984, the final date of the half penny. Raphael Maklouf's portrait, showing the Queen in a diadem, appeared on pennies from 1985 onward. The coin itself stayed exactly as it had been since 1971: bronze, 20.32 mm, 3.56 g, plain edge. Output swung widely through the decade, from 100,292,000 in 1982 to 793,492,000 in 1988, then dropped back to 206,457,600 in 1991, the last year of bronze pennies for circulation.

These are still bronze coins, so a magnet is a handy first check: a penny dated 1991 or earlier should ignore it. None of these dates is scarce in circulation and worn coins are face value. Collectors look for the turning points, 1982 for the new wording and 1985 for the new portrait. They also prize coins with original color. A properly red penny from the 1980s is harder to locate than most people expect. Watch out for coins that have been cleaned bright with polish or acid, which leaves a harsh, unnatural pink.

Mintage chart

Specifications