1999 10p Coin

Quick answers

Is the 1999 10p rare?

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

How many 1999 10p coins were made?

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

What is the 1999 10p made of?

Cupronickel (75% copper, 25% nickel). It weighs 6.5 g and measures 24.5 mm.

Is the 1999 10p still legal tender?

Yes. The current-size 10p is legal tender, for payments of up to 5 pounds in 5p and 10p coins.

How to recognize it

The other side carries Ian Rank-Broadley's portrait of Queen Elizabeth II, used from 1998 to 2015.

The 1999 10p is round, 24.5 mm across and cupronickel (75% copper, 25% nickel).

1999 10p by the numbers

No 1999 10p coins were struck for circulation, so none were paid out by banks. For comparison, nearby circulation dates were 1996 10p (118.7 million), 1997 10p (99.2 million), 2000 10p (134.7 million), 2001 10p (129.3 million) and 2002 10p (80.9 million).

What to check on your 1999 10p

• Confirm the date. 1999 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 1999 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 smaller crowned lion ten pence (1992 to 2008)

The small 10p arrived in September 1992, two years after the 5p was made smaller. The old coin had become too heavy for its value. The new one measured 24.5 mm and weighed 6.5 g, a little over half the weight of the florin-sized piece, though the cupronickel alloy and milled edge stayed the same. To fill the country's tills the Royal Mint struck 1,413,455,170 small 10ps dated 1992, by far the largest 10p figure. The large coins and the last florins ceased to be legal tender at the end of June 1993.

Ironside's crowned lion was reduced to fit, with TEN PENCE and the numeral 10. Raphael Maklouf's portrait, signed RDM, is on the obverse until 1997 and Ian Rank-Broadley's, signed IRB, from 1998. After the huge launch the 10p settled into a pattern of modest output with gaps. 1993, 1994, 1998 and 1999 were struck only for sets. When production for change resumed in 1995 it was just 43,259,000. From 2000 to 2007 it ran between roughly 70 million and 135 million a year.

Next to the busy 5p, the small lion 10p was made in fairly small numbers, so a few dates deserve a look. 1995 is the lowest circulation figure of the Maklouf small 10p. The real prize of the run is the last one. In 2008 only 9,720,000 lion 10ps were struck before Matthew Dent's shield design replaced it, the lowest circulation total of any small lion 10p and one of the three lowest of any 10p. Most dates are face value in worn condition. Uncirculated coins come from the annual sets, which are also the only source for the four sets-only years.

Mintage chart

Specifications