1982 1p Coin
The 1982 1p is a 1p coin struck for circulation with 100.3 million made. Value band: face value. Here is how to recognize it, what makes one worth more and what to check on yours.
- Year
- 1982
- Circulation mintage
- 100,292,000
- Value band
- Face value
- Composition
- Bronze (97% copper, 2.5% zinc, 0.5% tin)
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 1982 1p worth?
100.3 million were made, so the 1982 1p 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:
- Full original red or bright color
- A coin from a sets-only year
- A recognized variety or genuine error
For market prices, look at recent sold results for the same coin in the same condition, not asking prices.
Quick answers
- Is the 1982 1p rare?
- No. 100.3 million were made, so circulated examples are worth face value.
- How many 1982 1p coins were made?
- 100,292,000 were struck for circulation.
- What is the 1982 1p made of?
- Bronze (97% copper, 2.5% zinc, 0.5% tin). It weighs 3.56 g and measures 20.32 mm.
- Is the 1982 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.
The 1982 1p coin in context
From 1982 Britain's coins stopped calling themselves new. Eleven years after Decimal Day the word had done its job. The 1p changed from NEW PENNY to ONE PENNY, the 2p from NEW PENCE to TWO PENCE. The 5p, 10p and 50p dropped NEW in the same way. The 20p, launched that year, never carried it at all. Changing the wording meant cutting new reverse dies for every denomination at once.
That makes 1982 the first year of the ONE PENNY wording, a small milestone in the penny's story. Its mintage of 100,292,000 is the lowest for any bronze penny struck for circulation after 1971, about a third of the 1981 figure. Output bounced back to 243,002,000 in 1983. Despite the lower total, the coin is still easy to find because a hundred million is an awful lot of pennies. The 2p, meanwhile, was not struck for circulation at all in 1982, so the penny and the half penny were the only bronze coins of the year in change. For anyone sorting a pocketful of bronze, ONE PENNY on the reverse means a coin dated 1982 or later.
How to recognize it
Ironside's crowned portcullis is unchanged and only the lettering above it is new, now reading ONE PENNY with the numeral 1 below. Arnold Machin's portrait stays on the obverse with ELIZABETH II D G REG F D and the date. The coin is still bronze, 20.32 mm in diameter and 3.56 g, with a plain edge, so a 1981 and a 1982 penny weigh and feel exactly the same. Put them side by side and the wording is the only real difference. That makes it a useful pair for showing a newcomer how small details separate one issue from another.
The other side carries Arnold Machin's portrait of Queen Elizabeth II, used on UK coins from 1968 to 1984.
1982 1p by the numbers
Measured by how many were made, the 1982 1p ranks 5th lowest of 51 1p dates and varieties from 1971 to 2023. The next scarcer is the 2020 1p (88.1 million); the next more common is the 2015 1p (154.6 million).
For scale, the most common is the 1971 1p with 1.52 billion, about 15 times as many. The scarcest is the 2023 1p with 600,000, 167 times fewer than this one.
Compared with the dates around it, the 1982 output was 3 times fewer than 1981 and 2.4 times fewer than 1983.
Over the 1980s the Mint produced 3.74 billion pennies across 10 dates and varieties; the 1982 1p accounts for 2.7% of that.
What to check on your 1982 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.
A worn 1982 penny is face value. In uncirculated condition it can carry a small premium as the first ONE PENNY date. Collectors who build type sets often want one beside a 1981 NEW PENNY. Clean examples are easiest to find in the Royal Mint sets of 1982. When checking loose coins, look for original red or orange luster and a portcullis whose chain links are still clear. Cleaned coins look harsh and unnaturally pink, so collectors pass them over. Natural brown coins with honest wear are fine for an album.
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
| Country | United Kingdom |
|---|---|
| Denomination | 1 penny |
| Issuer | Royal Mint |
| Year | 1982 |
| Circulation mintage | 100,292,000 |
| Composition | Bronze (97% copper, 2.5% zinc, 0.5% tin) |
| Weight | 3.56 g |
| Diameter | 20.32 mm |
| Shape | Round |
| Edge | Plain |
| Portrait | Machin |
Frequently asked questions
When did NEW PENNY change to ONE PENNY?
The change came in 1982. Pennies dated 1971 to 1981 read NEW PENNY, while those dated 1982 onward read ONE PENNY. Every British denomination dropped NEW at the same time, so the wording is a quick clue to the age of any decimal coin.
Is the 1982 penny rarer than other bronze pennies?
It has the lowest mintage of the bronze circulation pennies made after 1971, at 100,292,000. That is still a vast number, so worn examples are common and face value. Only bright uncirculated coins draw any real interest from collectors.
Mintage figures: Penny (British decimal coin) (Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0), compiled from Royal Mint figures. How we build these pages.