1990 5p Coin
The 1990 5p is a 5p coin struck for circulation with 1.63 billion made. Value band: face value. Here is how to recognize it, what makes one worth more and what to check on yours.
- Year
- 1990
- Circulation mintage
- 1,634,976,005
- Value band
- Face value
- Composition
- Cupronickel (75% copper, 25% nickel)
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 1990 5p worth?
1.63 billion were made, so the 1990 5p 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 1990 5p rare?
- No. 1.63 billion were made, so circulated examples are worth face value.
- How many 1990 5p coins were made?
- 1,634,976,005 were struck for circulation.
- What is the 1990 5p made of?
- Cupronickel (75% copper, 25% nickel). It weighs 3.25 g and measures 18 mm.
- Is the 1990 5p still legal tender?
- Yes. The current-size 5p is legal tender, for payments of up to 5 pounds in 5p and 10p coins.
The 1990 5p coin in context
The smaller 5p arrived in June 1990 and changed British pockets almost overnight. By then the 1968 design was more than twenty years old and inflation had eaten away at what five pence could buy, yet the coin still weighed as much as an old shilling. The new piece measured 18 mm and weighed 3.25 g, a little over half the old weight. It was lighter to carry, quicker to count and far cheaper to make in the vast numbers the country needed.
Replacing every 5p in Britain took a staggering number of coins. The Royal Mint struck 1,634,976,005 5ps dated 1990, the highest figure for any date of the coin and more than sixteen times the 101,406,000 of 1989. Output stayed huge for two more years, with 724,979,000 in 1991 and 453,173,500 in 1992. Once enough of the new coins were out, the old ones were called in. The large 5p ceased to be legal tender at the end of 1990. The last shillings went with it, closing a chapter that had begun with the first decimal coins in 1968.
How to recognize it
The reverse is Christopher Ironside's crowned thistle, reduced to the smaller size, with FIVE PENCE and the figure 5. Raphael Maklouf's portrait of the Queen in the George IV State Diadem, signed RDM, is on the obverse with the legend and the date. The metal is still cupronickel of 75% copper and 25% nickel with a milled edge, so the 1990 small 5p looks like a miniature of the coin it replaced. Next to a large 5p of 1989 the difference is striking: the same design at a little over half the weight. Machines all over the country had to be adapted to take the new size.
The other side carries Raphael Maklouf's portrait of Queen Elizabeth II, used from 1985 to 1997.
1990 5p by the numbers
In mintage terms the 1990 5p is the most common of 46 5p dates and varieties from 1968 to 2023. The next scarcer is the 2014 5p (885 million).
Compared with the dates around it, the 1990 output was 16 times the 1989 figure and 2.3 times the 1991 figure.
Over the 1990s the Mint produced 4.04 billion 5p coins across 10 dates and varieties; the 1990 5p accounts for 40% of that.
What to check on your 1990 5p
- Confirm the date. Most dates are common, so the date and any variety decide whether a coin is worth setting aside.
- Try a magnet: cupronickel 5p coins like this 1990 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.
With well over a billion struck, a worn 1990 5p is a face value coin and you have almost certainly handled one. What makes the year interesting is the story rather than scarcity. A first year small 5p next to a 1989 large one makes a neat pair for anyone explaining how British coins changed. For a date collection, look for a coin from the 1990 annual sets, which shows sharp thistle leaves and full luster. In change the date is common enough that you can afford to be picky about condition.
The smaller thistle five pence (1990 to 2008)
By the late 1980s the big 5p felt clumsy. Years of inflation had shrunk what five pence could buy, yet the coin was still as heavy as an old shilling. The Royal Mint made it smaller in June 1990, cutting it to 18 mm and 3.25 g while keeping the same cupronickel alloy and milled edge. The design was simply reduced to fit. Replacing every 5p in the country took an enormous number of coins: 1,634,976,005 were struck dated 1990, the biggest 5p figure ever. The large 5p and the last of the shillings ceased to be legal tender at the end of that year.
Ironside's crowned thistle carried on with FIVE PENCE and the numeral 5. Raphael Maklouf's portrait of the Queen in the State Diadem, signed RDM, ran until 1997. Ian Rank-Broadley's portrait followed in 1998, showing an older Queen in a tiara with IRB beneath the neck. After the giant first years demand settled down. Only 1993 was struck for sets alone. From 1995 to 2007 output never fell below 183 million in a year and it often passed 300 million, as shops and banks kept asking for fresh coins to keep up with everyday small change.
These are the coins most people over thirty still have in a pot somewhere. Nearly every date is common and worth face value in worn condition. The date that stands apart is the last one. In 2008 the Royal Mint struck 92,880,000 thistle 5ps before the new shield designs took over, the lowest circulation figure of the whole small thistle run. Uncirculated examples of any date come from the annual sets, which are also the only source for 1993. When judging condition, look at the thistle head and the arches of the crown, which flatten quickly at this small size.
Mintage chart
Specifications
| Country | United Kingdom |
|---|---|
| Denomination | 5 pence |
| Issuer | Royal Mint |
| Year | 1990 |
| Circulation mintage | 1,634,976,005 |
| Composition | Cupronickel (75% copper, 25% nickel) |
| Weight | 3.25 g |
| Diameter | 18 mm |
| Shape | Round |
| Edge | Milled |
| Portrait | Maklouf |
Frequently asked questions
Is a 1990 5p rare because it was the first small one?
No. First year coins are often saved, but 1990 has the largest mintage of any 5p, 1,634,976,005. Worn ones are face value. Only an uncirculated coin in top condition, usually from a set, draws real interest from collectors.
When did the old large 5p stop being legal tender?
The large 5p was withdrawn at the end of 1990, only months after the smaller coin went into circulation in June. From then on large 5ps and shillings could no longer be spent, which is why you only find them in old collections now.
Mintage figures: Five pence (British coin) (Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0), compiled from Royal Mint figures. How we build these pages.