2021 1p Coin

Quick answers

Is the 2021 1p rare?

No. 56 million were made, so circulated examples are worth face value.

How many 2021 1p coins were made?

56,000,000 were struck for circulation.

What is the 2021 1p made of?

Copper-plated steel. It weighs 3.56 g and measures 20.32 mm.

Is the 2021 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.

How to recognize it

The other side carries Jody Clark's portrait of Queen Elizabeth II, introduced in 2015 and the last of her reign.

The 2021 1p is round, 20.32 mm across and copper-plated steel.

2021 1p by the numbers

Measured by how many were made, the 2021 1p ranks 3rd lowest of 51 1p dates and varieties from 1971 to 2023. The next scarcer is the 2022 1p (30 million); the next more common is the 2020 1p (88.1 million).

For scale, the most common is the 1971 1p with 1.52 billion, about 27 times as many. The scarcest is the 2023 1p with 600,000, 93 times fewer than this one.

Compared with the dates around it, the 2021 output was 1.6 times fewer than 2020 and 1.9 times the 2022 figure.

Over the 2020s the Mint produced 174.7 million pennies across 4 dates and varieties; the 2021 1p accounts for 32% of that.

What to check on your 2021 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: 2021 1p coins are copper-plated steel and stick to it. A 2021 coin that does not stick is worth a closer look.
• 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.

Royal Shield and Charles III pennies (2008 to 2023)

In 2008 the Royal Mint replaced every Ironside reverse from 1p to 50p with designs by Matthew Dent, who won a public competition for the job. Each coin carries one section of the shield from the Royal Arms. Lay the six coins together in the right order and the whole shield appears. The penny shows its part of the shield with ONE PENNY and no numeral. Portcullis pennies were also struck with the 2008 date, so that year exists with both reverses.

Ian Rank-Broadley's portrait stayed until 2015, when Jody Clark's became the fifth portrait of the Queen on British coins. The penny remained magnetic copper-plated steel, 20.32 mm and 3.56 g. Then demand slumped. Pennies dated 2018 and 2019 were made only for collector sets. Production for change came back from 2020 to 2022 at much lower levels. Then 2023 brought a new penny with Martin Jennings's portrait of King Charles III and a hazel dormouse.

Shield pennies are everywhere, yet this period holds the most interesting modern dates. The 2008 portcullis penny, the sets-only 2018 and 2019 coins and the 2023 dormouse are the ones to look for, with the lower output of 2015 and 2020 to 2022 adding a little interest. Fewer people pay with coins than in 2008, so small mintages now leave fewer coins in change. Check the date, the reverse and the portrait on any penny from 2008 onward before it goes back in your purse.

Mintage chart

Specifications