UK 5p Coins: Every Five Pence Since 1968 and the Sets-Only Dates

A shilling in disguise

The 5p and 10p went into circulation in April 1968, nearly three years before Decimal Day. A 5p was worth exactly one shilling, so the Royal Mint made it the same size and weight as the shilling: 23.59 mm across and 5.65 g of cupronickel. The two coins circulated side by side and old shillings stayed legal tender as five pence pieces until 1990.

Christopher Ironside designed the first reverse, a crowned thistle, the badge of Scotland. Early coins read NEW PENCE above it with a numeral 5 below. In 1982 the word NEW was dropped from all British coins and the lettering became FIVE PENCE.

Every 5p date

Sets only means no coins of that date were issued for circulation.

Four designs and five portraits

The reverse gives you the era at a glance. The portrait narrows it further: Arnold Machin's Queen to 1984, Raphael Maklouf's from 1985, Ian Rank-Broadley's from 1998, Jody Clark's from 2015 and Martin Jennings' King Charles III from 2023.

• 1968 to 1981: Ironside's crowned thistle with NEW PENCE
• 1982 to 2008: the same thistle, now reading FIVE PENCE
• 2008 to 2022: Matthew Dent's section of the Royal Shield, with FIVE PENCE in words
• 2023: oak leaves, part of the King's set of British wildlife and plant designs

The smaller 5p of 1990

By the late 1980s the large 5p felt clumsy next to the newer coins, so in 1990 the Royal Mint introduced a much smaller version: 18 mm across and 3.25 g, still cupronickel with the thistle reverse. The old size and the last of the shillings stopped being legal tender at the end of 1990. To replace them all, the Royal Mint struck 1,634,976,005 small 5ps dated 1990, the largest figure for any 5p date. Big runs of 724,979,000 in 1991 and 453,173,500 in 1992 followed.

Any large 5p you find today is a keepsake rather than spendable money. Large dates from 1968 to 1989 are common, apart from the sets-only years below.

Steel from 2011

Cupronickel grew expensive, so the 5p moved to nickel-plated steel with coins dated 2011. The size stayed at 18 mm. A fridge magnet is the quickest test: steel coins jump to it, while cupronickel ones ignore it. The 2008 changeover year also split, with 92,880,000 thistle coins and 165,172,000 Royal Shield coins dated 2008. In 2015 the portrait changed partway through the year, so both Rank-Broadley and Clark versions exist.

The years made only for sets

In twelve years the Royal Mint struck no 5ps for circulation, usually because earlier runs had left banks well stocked. These dates come only from proof or uncirculated sets, so a loose one in change came from a broken set and draws a small premium.

• Large Machin coins: 1972, 1973, 1974, 1976, 1981, 1982, 1983 and 1984
• Large Maklouf coins: 1985 and 1986
• Small Maklouf coin: 1993
• Royal Shield with the Clark portrait: 2018

The lowest circulation dates

Among coins made for change, these are the smallest runs. None is a true rarity, but they are the 5ps worth putting aside in sharp condition. The 2023 oak leaves coin is the one to look for first, since the King's coins are still new in change.

• 1977: 24,308,000, the lowest of any circulation 5p
• 2021: 28,000,000, the lowest of the small size
• 2023 oak leaves: 32,400,000, the first 5p of King Charles III
• 2022: 42,800,000, the last regular 5p of the Queen
• 1987: 48,220,000 and 2020: 49,200,000

Frequently asked questions