5000p
11 Volume Index

To be Realised as 11 Ecylopaedic Volumes

Five-thousand 1p coins withdrawn from banks in London, displayed heads up in date order from 1971 - 2020. All coins collected and photographed in 2023. Yearly mintage figures included.

Although 22,994,445,256 pennies were minted between 1971 - 2023, the Royal Mint states, “As at 29th Feb 2024, it’s estimated that 9.846 billion 1p pieces are in circulation.” According to The Treasury’s Cash and digital payments in the new economy: call for evidence document from March of 2018, “six in ten 1p and 2p coins are used in a transaction once before they leave the cash cycle.”
In the years 1972, 2018 & 2019 coins were solely produced for annual proof sets, a set containing one coin from each denomination in a specific year, with none minted for general circulation.

In 1971 the United Kingdom replaced pounds, shillings & pence with a decimal system where 100 pennies make up one pound. As the penny already existed, its new status was reflected in its initial titling: “New Penny”.

David Goodkin

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