News

They say cash is king – but a rare coin from the reign of Queen Elizabeth II could be worth a pretty penny if you are lucky enough to possess one.

They say cash is king – but a rare coin from the reign of Queen Elizabeth II could be worth a pretty penny if you are lucky enough to possess one.

According to one TikTok user with an interest in old and valuable coins, a 1954 penny has achieved an estimated value of £90,000 – and could fetch in excess of £100,000 when it goes under the hammer this month.

In a video posted to his nearly 210,000 followers, user @CoinCollectingWizard gives an overview of the valuable coin, which is set to be sold under auction by Sovereign Rarities on 19 November.

Holding the coin in his hands, the expert first shows the reverse, which features a beaded border and the figure of Britannia – the female personification of Great Britain.

Britannia is seated facing right, wearing a crested Corinthian helmet and a flowing dress.

She rests her right hand on a shield bearing the combined heraldic crosses of the Union Flag, and a trident in her left, while in the background are sea waves and a lighthouse.

Britannia sits within the words ‘One Penny’ and the date, 1954, appears at the bottom.

Turning the coin over, the expert shows the young laureate bust of Queen Elizabeth II facing right.

A laurel wreath in the Queen’s hair is tied with a ribbon and two ends flowing behind.

Around the edges of the coin are the Latin words for ‘Elizabeth the Second, by the Grace of God, Queen, Defender of the Faith.’

User @CoinCollectingWizard says: ‘And this just happens to be a 1954 penny, the rarest penny the rarest penny ever known, even rarer than the 1933 penny.

‘As you may know the 1933 penny recently sold at auction for over £100,000.

‘And now that a 1954 has appeared at an online auction, we know have an estimate for this coin between £90,000 and £100,000.’

The video has so far garnered more than 660 likes.

According to vintage coin experts, Online Coin Club, the 1954 penny is thought to have the ‘highest rarity possible’, adding it is ‘one of the mysteries of British numismatics.’

Before it was minted, there were already a large number of pennies in circulation and an economic slowdown after the Second World War meant there was no demand for any more.

But when George VI died in 1952 at the age of 56, new coronation coins were designed to mark the ascension of Elizabeth II.

In 1953, more than 1.3 million pennies were minted for special commemorative sets, with an additional number put into circulation.

Online Coin Club explains that during this period the Royal Mint ‘experimented’ with the design.

At least one penny – though it could be many more – was minted bearing the year 1954, but these were intended for internal purposes only at the Royal Mint.

The trial pennies were meant to have been destroyed and were not for wider circulation.

Online Coin Club adds: ‘In response to a freedom of information request in 2011 the mint stated it was “unable to say for certain that only one survived from the trial run of several hundreds,”‘ prompting the tantalising assumption there could be others.

The British Museum and the Royal Mint Collection both have examples of the experimental coins, including some that were only struck on one side.

Related Posts

Inside Chelsea’s trendy King’s Road as thieves target shoppers at luxury boutiques to steal 30 phones a day – after Christine Lampard fell victim to muggers

Shoppers who have their mobile phones stolen on the fashionable King’s Road, like Christine Lampard, won’t get them back, say security guards who work in the upmarket boutiques targeted by street thieves. After the Loose Women presenter Christine revealed how a security guard shrugged and said, ‘there’s at least 30 a day stolen out here,’ after she had her phone snatched while shopping along the exclusive road in Chelsea, southwest London, others warned they are powerless to stop the thefts. Christine, 45 described being the victim of the mobile phone crime wave sweeping the capital while speaking with fellow Loose Women, Olivia Attwood, Judi Love, and Brenda Edwards, about policing and Keir Starmer’s right to prioritise ‘physical crime’ after journalists were arrested over social media posts.

PETER VAN ONSELEN: The rot at the core of Team Albo has been exposed by these shady last minute acts – including a startling admission about the misinformation bill

The poor priorities and inconsistencies of Anthony Albanese’s government are nearly summed up by the political manoeuvres taking place as we enter the final parliamentary sitting period before the summer break. They are tangible evidence for why Labor is floundering in the polls in just its first term in power. On the one hand, Labor spent months telling us its misinformation bill was a vital reform aimed at stamping out… you guessed it, misinformation in public discourse.

Labour is a risk to Britain’s national security and it’s ‘deeply’ worrying, a former MI6 chief claims

A former MI6 spy chief has accused Labour of putting national security at risk following its ‘deeply’ worrying cuts to defence spending. Sir Richard Dearlove, who was head of MI6 between 1999 and 2004, has claimed the new government is showing no urgency in the face of international crises. In words reported by the Daily Telegraph, Sir Richard said: ‘I’m deeply worried about aspects of this new Government, particularly when it comes to national security – and these are ultimately issues of national security.

Father who pleaded with pediatrician ex-wife not to ‘chemically castrate’ their son, 9, is dealt crushing blow

A Texas father who tried for years to stop his ex-wife from allowing his pre-teen child, who now identifies as ‘Luna,’ to be chemically castrated has been dealt a blow in California court. Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Mark Juhas ruled that Jeff Younger’s ex-wife Anne Georgulas would be granted full custody of his 12-year-old son James and would be able to allow him to transition. It comes as a blow to Younger, 59, who announced on X that he ‘lost all parental rights’ over his twins and wished his children goodbye.

Ben Fordham left stunned as top professor exposes what Australia got wrong during Covid

A visiting UK professor of medicine stunned radio host Ben Fordham by delivering a blistering takedown of Covid lockdowns, quarantine, masks, and vaccines. Angus Dalgleish, a professor of oncology at London’s St George’s University who also sits on the European Commission Cancer Board, told Fordham Australia’s Covid response was ‘absolutely appalling’, ‘madness’ and ‘disgraceful’. His unconventional views go against the recent Covid Response Inquiry verdict that ‘Australia fared well relative to other nations that experienced larger losses in human life, health system collapse and more severe economic downturns’.

Trump plans to kick transgender troops out of the military with 15,000 service members to be ‘medically discharged’ on his first day in office, report claims

President elect Donald Trump reportedly plans to issue an executive order on his ‘first day in office’ to ban transgender members of the military. The controversial order would cause as many as 15,000 active service members to be ‘medically discharged’ – deeming them unfit to serve, according to The Times. Trump seeks to issue the executive action on January 20, 2025 or Day 1 of his term, the Times said, preventing any transgender people from enlisting in the military as all branches continue to struggle with recruitment.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *