United Kingdom | |
| Value | £0.10 |
|---|---|
| Mass | (1968–1992) 11.31 g (1992–present) 6.5 g |
| Diameter | (1968–1992) 28.5 mm (1992–present) 24.5 mm |
| Thickness | (Cupro-nickel) 1.85 mm (Steel) 2.05 mm |
| Edge | Milled |
| Composition | Cupro-nickel (1971–2012) Nickel-platedsteel (2012–) |
| Years of minting | 1968–present |
| Obverse | |
 | |
| Design | Queen Elizabeth II |
| Designer | Jody Clark |
| Design date | 2015 |
| Reverse | |
 | |
| Design | Segment of theRoyal Shield |
| Designer | Matthew Dent |
| Design date | 2008 |
TheBritish decimalten pencecoin (often shortened to10p in writing and speech) is a denomination ofsterling coinage worth1⁄10 of apound. Its obverse has featured the profile of theBritish monarch since the coin's introduction in 1968, to replace theflorin (two shilling) coin in preparation fordecimalisation in 1971.[1] It remained the same size as the florin (which also remained legal tender) until a smaller version was introduced on 30 September 1992, with the older coins and the pre-decimal florin being withdrawn on 30 June 1993.[2]
The ten pence coin was originally minted fromcupro-nickel (75%Cu, 25%Ni), but since 2012 it has been minted in nickel-plated steel due to the increasing price of metal. From January 2013 theRoyal Mint began a programme to gradually remove the cupro-nickel coins from circulation and replace them with the nickel-plated steel versions.[3]
As of March 2014,[update] there were an estimated 1,631 million 10p coins in circulation, with an estimated face value of £163.08 million.[4]
Ten pence coins arelegal tender for amounts up to the sum of £5 when offered in repayment of a debt; however, the coin'slegal tender status is not normally relevant for everyday transactions.
DuringQueen Elizabeth II's reign, four differentobverses were used. The inscription until 2015 wasELIZABETH IID.G.REG.F.D.,[5] followed by the year of minting. In the original design both sides of the coin areencircled by dots, a common feature on coins, known as beading.
As with all new decimal currency, until 1984 the portrait of Elizabeth II byArnold Machin appeared on the obverse,[6] in which the Queen wears the'Girls of Great Britain and Ireland' Tiara.
Between 1985 and 1997 the portrait byRaphael Maklouf was used,[6] in which the Queen wears theGeorge IV State Diadem.
On 30 September 1992 a reduced-size version of the 10 pence coin was introduced. The older and larger version of the coin was withdrawn from circulation on 30 June 1993. The design remained unchanged.
From 1998 to 2015 the portrait byIan Rank-Broadley was used,[6] again featuring thetiara, with a signature-markIRB below the portrait.
From 2015, the obverse featured a portrait byJody Clark.
The originalreverse of the coin, designed byChristopher Ironside, and used from 1968 to 2008, is a crowned lion (formally,Part of the crest of England, a lion passant guardant royally crowned), with the numeral "10" below the lion, and eitherNEW PENCE (1968–1981) orTEN PENCE (1982–2008) above the lion.
In August 2005 theRoyal Mint launched acompetition to find new reverse designs for all circulating coins apart from the £2 coin.[7] The winner, announced in April 2008, wasMatthew Dent, whose designs were gradually introduced into the circulating British coinage from mid-2008.[8] The designs for the 1p, 2p, 5p, 10p, 20p and 50p coins depict sections of theRoyal Shield that form the whole shield when placed together. The shield in its entirety was featured on the now-obsolete round £1 coin. The 10p coin depicts part of the first quarter of the shield, showing two of the lions passant from the Royal Banner of England, with the wordsTEN PENCE above the shield design. The coin's obverse remains largely unchanged, but the beading (the ring of dots around the coin's circumference), which no longer features on the coin's reverse, has also been removed from the obverse.
In March 2018, new designs were released, one for each of the 26 letters of the alphabet.Anne Jessopp, chief executive of the Royal Mint, described the designs as "iconic themes that are quintessentially British". The A to Z coins were confirmed to have individual mintage figures of 220,000 on 14 October 2019 – a total of 5,720,000 for all 26.[9][10]
In October 2023 the King Charles III ten-pence coin was presented; the coin features acapercaillie.[11][12]
| Year | Number minted | Composition | Diameter (mm) | Portrait | Reverse |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1968 | 336,143,250 | Cupro-nickel | 28.5 | Machin | Ironside |
| 1969 | 314,008,000 | ||||
| 1970 | 133,571,000 | ||||
| 1971 | 63,205,000 | ||||
| 1972 | 0 | ||||
| 1973 | 152,174,000 | ||||
| 1974 | 92,741,000 | ||||
| 1975 | 181,559,000 | ||||
| 1976 | 228,220,000 | ||||
| 1977 | 59,323,000 | ||||
| 1978 | 0 | ||||
| 1979 | 115,457,000 | ||||
| 1980 | 88,650,000 | ||||
| 1981 | 3,487,000 | ||||
| 1982 | 0 | ||||
| 1983 | 0 | ||||
| 1984 | 0 | ||||
| 1985 | 0 | Maklouf | |||
| 1986 | 0 | ||||
| 1987 | 0 | ||||
| 1988 | 0 | ||||
| 1989 | 0 | ||||
| 1990 | 0 | ||||
| 1991 | 0 | ||||
| 1992 | 1,413,455,170 | 24.5 | |||
| 1993 | 0 | ||||
| 1994 | 0 | ||||
| 1995 | 43,259,000 | ||||
| 1996 | 118,738,000 | ||||
| 1997 | 99,196,000 | ||||
| 1998 | 0 | Rank-Broadley | |||
| 1999 | 0 | ||||
| 2000 | 134,733,000 | ||||
| 2001 | 129,281,000 | ||||
| 2002 | 80,934,000 | ||||
| 2003 | 88,118,000 | ||||
| 2004 | 99,602,000 | ||||
| 2005 | 69,604,000 | ||||
| 2006 | 118,803,000 | ||||
| 2007 | 72,720,000 | ||||
| 2008 | 9,720,000 | ||||
| 2008 | 71,447,000 | Dent | |||
| 2009 | 84,360,000 | ||||
| 2010 | 96,600,500 | ||||
| 2011 | 59,603,850 | ||||
| 2012 | 11,600,030 | Nickel-plated steel | |||
| 2013 | 320,200,750 | ||||
| 2014 | 490,202,020 | ||||
| 2015 | 119,000,000 | ||||
| 91,900,000 | Clark | ||||
| 2016 | 135,380,000 | ||||
| 2017 | 33,300,000 | ||||
| 2018 | 0 | Dent | |||
| 5,720,000 | A to Z | ||||
| 2019 | 0 | Dent | |||
| 2,100,000 | A to Z | ||||
| 2020 | 45,347,846 | Dent | |||
| 2021 | 71,200,000 | ||||
| 2022 | 38,000,000 | ||||
| 2023 | 600,000 | Jennings | The Royal Mint[14] |
| Year | Letter | Description | Number minted |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | A | Angel of the North | 220,000 |
| B | Bond... James Bond | 220,000 | |
| C | Cricket | 220,000 | |
| D | Double Decker Bus | 220,000 | |
| E | English Breakfast | 220,000 | |
| F | Fish and Chips | 220,000 | |
| G | Greenwich Mean Time | 220,000 | |
| H | Houses of Parliament | 220,000 | |
| I | Ice Cream Cone | 220,000 | |
| J | Jubilee | 220,000 | |
| K | King Arthur | 220,000 | |
| L | Loch Ness Monster | 220,000 | |
| M | Mackintosh | 220,000 | |
| N | NHS | 220,000 | |
| O | Oak Tree | 220,000 | |
| P | Postbox | 220,000 | |
| Q | Queuing | 220,000 | |
| R | Robin | 220,000 | |
| S | Stonehenge | 220,000 | |
| T | Tea | 220,000 | |
| U | Union Flag | 220,000 | |
| V | Villages | 220,000 | |
| W | World Wide Web | 220,000 | |
| X | X Marks The Spot | 220,000 | |
| Y | Yeoman Warder | 220,000 | |
| Z | Zebra Crossing | 220,000 | |
| 2019 | A | Angel of the North | 84,000 |
| B | Bond... James Bond | 84,000 | |
| C | Cricket | 84,000 | |
| D | Double Decker Bus | 84,000 | |
| E | English Breakfast | 84,000 | |
| F | Fish and Chips | 84,000 | |
| G | Greenwich Mean Time | 84,000 | |
| H | Houses of Parliament | 84,000 | |
| I | Ice Cream Cone | 84,000 | |
| J | Jubilee | 84,000 | |
| K | King Arthur | 84,000 | |
| L | Loch Ness Monster | 84,000 | |
| M | Mackintosh | 84,000 | |
| N | NHS | 84,000 | |
| O | Oak Tree | 84,000 | |
| P | Postbox | 84,000 | |
| Q | Queuing | 83,000 | |
| R | Robin | 64,000 | |
| S | Stonehenge | 84,000 | |
| T | Tea | 84,000 | |
| U | Union Flag | 84,000 | |
| V | Villages | 84,000 | |
| W | World Wide Web | 63,000 | |
| X | X Marks The Spot | 84,000 | |
| Y | Yeoman Warder | 63,000 | |
| Z | Zebra Crossing | 63,000 |
Mint sets have been produced since 1982; where mintages on or after that date indicate '0', there are examples contained within those sets.
