2012 10p Coin
The 2012 10p is a 10p coin struck for circulation with 11.6 million made. Value band: face value. Here is how to recognize it, what makes one worth more and what to check on yours.
- Year
- 2012
- Circulation mintage
- 11,600,030
- Value band
- Face value
- 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 2012 10p worth?
11.6 million were made, so the 2012 10p is easy to find. A circulated one is worth face value; collectors pay a little more only for uncirculated coins and coins still in their original Royal Mint pack.
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 2012 10p rare?
- No. 11.6 million were made, so circulated examples are worth face value.
- How many 2012 10p coins were made?
- 11,600,030 were struck for circulation.
- What is the 2012 10p made of?
- Nickel-plated steel. It weighs 6.5 g and measures 24.5 mm.
- Is the 2012 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 2012 10p coin in context
2012 was the year the biggest change to the 10p's metal reached people's change. The coin was now nickel-plated steel rather than solid cupronickel. Nickel had become costly, so the 5p and 10p moved to plated steel together, starting with coins dated 2011 that were held back until January 2012. A steel core with a nickel coat looks almost identical, costs far less to make and suits a coin produced in such vast numbers. The 1p and 2p had made a similar switch to copper-plated steel twenty years earlier, so the Mint knew the process well.
Only 11,600,030 10ps were struck dated 2012, a big drop from 59,603,850 in 2011 and the lowest shield 10p figure. Output then exploded to 320,200,750 in 2013 and 490,202,020 in 2014 as the steel coins went out in volume. The change was not entirely smooth. Vending and parking machines that relied on the metal of the old coins needed to be adjusted to recognize the new ones, which is why the release was delayed. 2012 was also the Diamond Jubilee and Olympic year, though the everyday 10p carried no mark of either.
How to recognize it
On the surface the 2012 10p looks like any other shield coin. The reverse still carries Matthew Dent's piece of the Royal Shield and the words TEN PENCE. Ian Rank-Broadley's portrait of the Queen in a tiara is on the obverse with the date. The coin keeps its 24.5 mm diameter and 6.5 g weight but is a touch thicker, since steel is lighter than cupronickel for the same volume. A magnet is the quickest test: the 2012 coin will cling to it, while a 2010 coin will not. The milled edge and the overall look are the same as before, so without a magnet you have to read the date.
The other side carries Ian Rank-Broadley's portrait of Queen Elizabeth II, used from 1998 to 2015.
2012 10p by the numbers
By the numbers, the 2012 10p ranks 4th lowest of 40 10p dates and varieties from 1968 to 2023. The next scarcer is the 2008 Old Reverse 10p (9.72 million); the next more common is the 2017 10p (33.3 million).
For scale, the most common is the 1992 10p with 1.41 billion, about 122 times as many. The scarcest is the 2023 10p with 600,000, 19 times fewer than this one.
Compared with the dates around it, the 2012 output was 5.1 times fewer than 2011 and 28 times fewer than 2013.
Over the 2010s the Mint produced 1.36 billion 10p coins across 11 dates and varieties; the 2012 10p accounts for 0.9% of that.
What to check on your 2012 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: 2012 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.
The 2012 10p combines the first full year of steel coins in change with the lowest mintage of the shield design. That gives it more appeal than any other 10p of its decade apart from the 2008 lion coin. Worn examples are still close to face value, perhaps a small premium to the right buyer. Bright coins with undamaged plating are the ones to keep. Steel coins rust where the plating is scratched, so store them somewhere dry. A 2010 cupronickel coin beside a 2012 steel one makes a simple pair showing the change of metal.
Matthew Dent's shield ten pence (2008 to 2022)
Matthew Dent's designs reached the 10p in 2008, the first new reverse for the coin in forty years. His winning entry in the Royal Mint's open competition split the Royal Shield of Arms into six sections spread across the coins from 1p to 50p. Laid out in the right order they make the complete shield, which the round pound of the time carried whole. The 10p's piece reads TEN PENCE in words, with no numeral anywhere on the coin. The crowned lion that had been on every 10p since 1968 was retired.
Two physical changes followed. From the 2011 date the 10p switched from solid cupronickel to nickel-plated steel, a cheaper metal that keeps the same 24.5 mm and 6.5 g but is a touch thicker and sticks to a magnet. Then in 2015 Ian Rank-Broadley's portrait gave way to Jody Clark's, which shows the Queen in the George IV State Diadem with JC beneath the neck, so 2015 comes with both portraits. Output swung hard. The 2012 date was just 11,600,030, while 2013 and 2014 passed 320 million and 490 million.
Cash use fell away after 2016. Only 33,300,000 were struck in 2017. The 2018 and 2019 dates were made only for sets, because the circulating 10ps of those years were the A to Z coins with letters of the alphabet. Production returned in 2020 at lower levels than before. For collectors the dates to watch are 2012, 2017 and the two sets-only years. Every other shield 10p is common and face value in worn condition. Use a magnet to sort the cupronickel coins of 2008 to 2010 from the steel ones that followed.
Mintage chart
Specifications
| Country | United Kingdom |
|---|---|
| Denomination | 10 pence |
| Issuer | Royal Mint |
| Year | 2012 |
| Circulation mintage | 11,600,030 |
| Composition | Nickel-plated steel |
| Weight | 6.5 g |
| Diameter | 24.5 mm |
| Shape | Round |
| Edge | Milled |
| Portrait | Rank-Broadley |
Frequently asked questions
Why is the 2012 10p magnetic?
Since the 2011 date the 10p has had a steel core with a nickel plating instead of being solid cupronickel. Steel is attracted to magnets, so every 10p dated 2011 or later will stick to one, while earlier dates will not.
Is the 2012 10p scarce?
It is the lowest mintage of any shield 10p, 11,600,030. That is a small figure next to the hundreds of millions struck in 2013 and 2014, so it can take some searching. Worn coins are still close to face value.
Mintage figures: Ten pence (British coin) (Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0), compiled from Royal Mint figures. How we build these pages.