In 1992 the original 10p coin was replaced with a smaller and lighter design. Despite this being the very first year that the new 10p coin was introduced, the 10p coins from this year are not rare.
1,413,455,170 10p coins were introduced into circulation in 1992. To this day, there has not been a single year where the 10p mintage amount has been larger. To put this into perspective, the next largest mintage of 10p coins in a single year since 1992 is 490,202,020, which is almost 3 times less.
Let’s take a look at how much the coin is worth today, as well as a look into the history of the 10p coin before the change of shape and what other 10p coins you can look out for in your change.
When Did The Old 10p Go Out Of Circulation?
The old-style 10p coin was officially drawn out of circulation on 30 June 1993, with the coin last being minted in 1981.
The old 10p replaced the florin and was intentionally made the same size, weighing 11.31g with a diameter of 28.5mm. The new 10p was made smaller and lighter, weighing just 6.5g with a diameter of 24.5mm.
1992 10p Coin Value
Due to the extremely large mintage of 10p coins in 1992, it is no surprise that they are not particularly valuable.
For circulated 10p coins dated 1992 we struggled to find many listings and those that had completed had an average sale price of £1.00, not including packaging. This is likely because there are so many of the coins around anyway that not many people consider selling them in the first place.
What About The Uncirculated Large 10p Coins From 1992?
The Royal Mint also released the old-style larger 10p in 1992 for one last year in brilliant uncirculated condition for coin collectors. This means if you have a 10p dated 1992, you could either have a small or large 10p relating to the new or old design.
The brilliant uncirculated large 10p coins issued in 1992 are worth considerable more than the small new 10p coins that were issued into circulation in the same year.
1992 brilliant uncirculated old-style 10p coins sell for an average of £2.80 on eBay, not including postage and packaging with some examples were selling for almost £10.
So if you happen to find a 1992 10p coin then make sure to check it with a more recent 10p to compare the size and see if you have something a bit more valuable in your hands. Those found in circulation are likely to be the new smaller 10p coin.
Are There Any Rare 10p Coins?
Despite some of the older 10p coins not being particularly rare in terms of mintage figures, there are some newer 10p coins that are very rare and sought after.
The Alphabet 10p coins that are part of the Great British Coin Hunt have total mintages of around 300,000 each and are highly collectable. These were released in 2018 and 2019 and have led to a huge surge in coin collecting, particularly amongst children.
Apart from the 26 Alphabet 10p coin series, however, there aren’t really any other notable 10p coins that people are out to collect. 50p coins, as well as £2 coins, have proven to be a lot more collectable due to how many commemorative versions are produced each year.
Some of the most popular of these include the Paddington Bear series as well as the Sherlock Holmes 50p.
Are Old 10p Coins Worth Anything?
Between decimalisation in February 1968 and 1981 the old-style 10p coins were minted most years – the years and corresponding mintage figures can be found below:
- 1968 – 336,143,250
- 1969 – 314,008,000
- 1970 – 133,571,000
- 1971 – 63,205,000
- 1973 – 152,174,000
- 1974 – 92,741,000
- 1975 – 181,559,000
- 1976 – 228,220,000
- 1977 – 59,323,000
- 1979 – 115,457,000
- 1980 – 88,650,000
- 1981 – 3,487,000
Whilst these older 10ps do have some collectable value due to being withdrawn from circulation, the mintage figures were still very large for most years.
The most interesting years are obviously the first year they were introduced in 1968 and the last year that they were minted in 1981. In terms of rarity, the 1981 editions are much rarer as the mintage figure in this year was much smaller than any of the other years that the coin was circulating.
1981 10p coins sells for anywhere from 50p to £2 usually on eBay, although there doesn’t seem to be a great demand for the coin. There were also proof versions issued which are worth between £10 and £20.
Always keep mintage figures in mind when deciding what 10p you want to buy or sell. Lots of listings on eBay will try and sell you a coin as rarer than what it actually is, which was very apparent when we checked the listings for old 10p coins.
