Houses of Parliament 10p (Letter H)
The Houses of Parliament 10p (Letter H) is a circulating A to Z 10p with 304,000 made. Value band: small premium. Here is how to recognize it, what makes one worth more and what to check on yours.
- Year
- 2018
- Circulation mintage
- 304,000
- 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 Houses of Parliament 10p (Letter H) worth?
The A to Z 10p coins were made in small runs for circulation (220,000 dated 2018 and 84,000 dated 2019 for this letter). They were made to be collected. A circulated Houses of Parliament 10p brings a small premium to collectors filling a set, more for the scarcer 2019 date and more again in uncirculated condition.
What would make yours worth more:
- The scarcer 2019 date
- Uncirculated condition
- An original collector card or pack
For market prices, look at recent sold results for the same coin in the same condition, not asking prices.
Quick answers
- Is the Houses of Parliament 10p (Letter H) rare?
- It is scarcer than most A to Z 10p coins. Collectors pay a small premium for good examples.
- How many Houses of Parliament 10p (Letter H) coins were made?
- 304,000 were struck for circulation.
- What is the Houses of Parliament 10p (Letter H) made of?
- Nickel-plated steel. It weighs 6.5 g and measures 24.5 mm.
- Is the Houses of Parliament 10p (Letter H) still legal tender?
- Yes. Every A to Z 10p is legal tender in the UK at face value.
Why the Houses of Parliament 10p (Letter H) was made
The Palace of Westminster has been the seat of English and later British government for centuries, but the building you see today is largely Victorian. A fire in 1834 destroyed most of the old palace, leaving Westminster Hall as one of the few survivors. Architect Charles Barry won the competition to rebuild it and worked with Augustus Pugin, whose Gothic Revival detail covers almost every surface from the stonework to the wallpaper. Building went on for about three decades.
At the north end stands the clock tower, renamed the Elizabeth Tower in 2012 to mark the Queen's Diamond Jubilee. Its great bell is Big Ben, a nickname many people use for the whole tower. Inside, the House of Commons and the House of Lords debate and pass the laws of the United Kingdom. The palace was named a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1987 together with Westminster Abbey. Few buildings stand so clearly for a country. H for Houses of Parliament gave the Royal Mint's 2018 A to Z 10p series one of its most instantly recognizable landmarks and it remains a favorite with visitors who want a souvenir from their change.
How to recognize it
The H design shows the Houses of Parliament, with the clock tower rising above the palace and the letter H worked into the scene. Under the design you have a standard 10p: 24.5 mm, 6.5 g, nickel-plated steel and a milled edge. Jody Clark's portrait of Queen Elizabeth II appears on the obverse along with the date. Two dates were issued, 2018 and 2019, both with the same reverse. Check the date before deciding which version you have, because the 2019 coin is the less common one. Fine lines in the tower are the first detail to fade on a worn coin.
The other side carries Jody Clark's portrait of Queen Elizabeth II, introduced in 2015 and the last of her reign.
Houses of Parliament 10p (Letter H) by the numbers
In mintage terms the Houses of Parliament 10p (Letter H) ranks 13th lowest of 26 circulating A to Z 10p coins with a published mintage. The next scarcer is the Greenwich Mean Time 10p (Letter G) (304,000); the next more common is the Ice Cream Cone 10p (Letter I) (304,000).
It was the only circulating commemorative A to Z 10p dated 2018.
Of the 304,000 Houses of Parliament 10p coins, 220,000 are dated 2018 and 84,000 are dated 2019. About 2.6 coins were dated 2018 for every one dated 2019, which makes 2019 the date to look for.
What to check on your Houses of Parliament 10p (Letter H)
- Confirm the letter and picture: H for Houses of Parliament, with the date 2018 or 2019.
- Check the date. The 2019 coins had much smaller runs, so the same letter is scarcer with a 2019 date.
- Look at the surfaces under a light: coins from collector packs have unbroken luster, while change-worn coins show scuffs on the letter and design.
- Keep sets in order in a holder rather than loose; scratches on the large flat letter are easy to see.
Parliament had 220,000 coins struck for 2018 and 84,000 for 2019. The later run is under two fifths of the first. That gap, plus the fact that 2019 coins went straight into the hands of an army of collectors, makes the 2019 date far harder to find in change. Landmark designs are popular with tourists as well as collectors, so the H coin rarely stays in a till for long. A crisp tower and clean field are good signs of a coin that has seen little use.
Mintage chart
Specifications
| Country | United Kingdom |
|---|---|
| Denomination | 10 pence |
| Issuer | Royal Mint |
| Year | 2018 |
| Circulation mintage | 304,000 |
| Composition | Nickel-plated steel |
| Weight | 6.5 g |
| Diameter | 24.5 mm |
| Shape | Round |
| Edge | Milled |
| Portrait | Clark |
Other 2018 A to Z 10p coins
Frequently asked questions
Is Big Ben on the H 10p coin?
The H coin shows the Houses of Parliament, including the clock tower that holds the bell called Big Ben. Since 2012 the tower itself has officially been called the Elizabeth Tower, after the Queen's Diamond Jubilee.
Is the 2019 Houses of Parliament 10p hard to find?
Yes, much harder than the 2018 coin. Only 84,000 were made with the 2019 date against 220,000 for 2018 and many were kept by collectors as soon as they reached circulation.
Mintage figures: Ten pence (British coin) (Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0), compiled from Royal Mint figures. How we build these pages.