1947 Penny

Description

This is the 1947 Penny

The penny is a coin used prior to decimalisation. There were twelve pennies to one shilling and twenty shillings to one pound meaning that there were 240 pennies to a pounds.

The first pennies were minted during the reign of King Offa of Mercia around 750AD. The first series were 1/240^th of a pound giving a pennyweight of approximately 1.46 grams.

In 1257 Henry III minted a gold penny that had a value of 1 Shilling and 8 Pence. This was quite unpopular at first. Only eight of these gold pennies are known to have survived until the present day.

In 1797 a Cartwheel Penny was minted together with a Cartwheel Twopence. These were large coins and reflected their value in copper at that time. These also proved to be unpopular because of their size.

Pennies have been minted continuously right up to the reign of Queen Elizabeth II and the last one was minted in 1967.

One of the most sought after pennies was minted in 1933 and there is thought to be one more of these missing. The last one sold recently at auction fetched £75,000.

Pennies are quite collectable as coins and many people are seeking date runs of high quality coins. The 1947 Penny was minted during the reign of King George VI using bronze and weighs 9.45g with a diameter of 30.8mms.

We also stock a wide range of halfpennies, threepences and all other decimal coinage. You are able to purchase either single coins, groups or proof sets. Proof Sets are available from 1970 onwards and make an ideal gift for marking that special date or occasion.

We stock many, many years of pennies and these are available either by the single coin of in bulk. For bulk orders please email us at info@ukcoinco.com