The British decimal five pence piece (5p) is a denomination of sterling coinage worth of a pound, or five pence. Its obverse has featured the profile of the British monarch since the coin’s introduction on 23 April 1968, replacing the shilling in preparation for decimalisation in 1971. It remained the same size as the one shilling coin, which also remained legal tender, until a smaller version was introduced in June 1990 with the older coins being withdrawn on 31 December 1990.
The five pence coin was originally minted from cupro-nickel (75% Cu, 25% Ni), but since 2011Decimal Five Pence | author=Tony Clayton it has been minted in nickel-plated steel due to the increasing price of metal. From January 2013, the Royal Mint began a programme to gradually remove the previous cupro-nickel coins from circulation, replacing them with nickel-plated steel versions.
In March 2014, an estimated 3,847 million 5p coins were in circulation with an estimated face value of £192.370 million.
Five pence coins minted after 1990 are legal tender up to the sum of £5 when offered in repayment of a debt; however, the coin's legal tender status is not normally relevant for everyday transactions.Royal Mint Frequently Asked Questions
Design
The original reverse of the coin, designed by Christopher Ironside, and used from 1968 to 2008, is a crowned thistle (formally, The Badge of Scotland, a thistle royally crowned), with the numeral "5" below the thistle, and either (1968–1981) or (1982–2008) above the thistle.
To date, three different obverses have been used. In all cases, the inscription is , where 2013 is replaced by the year of minting. In the original design, both sides of the coin are encircled by dots, a common feature on coins, known as beading.
As with all new decimal currency, until 1984 the portrait of Queen Elizabeth II by Arnold Machin appeared on the obverse, in which the Queen wears the 'Girls of Great Britain and Ireland' Tiara.
Between 1985 and 1997, the portrait by Raphael Maklouf was used, in which the Queen wears the George IV State Diadem.
On 27 June 1990, a reduced-size version of the five pence coin was introduced. The older, larger coins were withdrawn on 31 December 1990. The design remained unchanged.
From 1998 to 2015, the portrait by Ian Rank-Broadley was used, again featuring the tiara, with a signature-mark below the portrait.
In June 2015, coins bearing the portrait by Jody Clark were introduced into circulation.
In August 2005, the Royal Mint launched a competition to find new reverse designs for all circulating coins apart from the £2 coin."Royal Mint seeks new coin designs" , BBC News, 17 August 2005 The winner, announced in April 2008, was Matthew Dent, whose designs were gradually introduced into the circulating British coinage from mid-2008."Royal Mint unveils new UK coins" , 2 April 2008 The designs for the 1p, 2p, 5p, 10p, 20p and 50p coins depict sections of the Royal Shield that form the whole shield when placed together. The shield in its entirety was featured on the now-obsolete round £1 coin. The 5p coin depicts the centre of the Royal shield, showing the meeting point of the four quarters. 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 October 2023 the King Charles III five-pence coin, featuring an oak leaf with acorns, was presented.
Mintages +Number of five pence coins minted for circulation by year Year Number minted Composition Diameter (mm) Portrait Reverse 1968 98,868,250 Cupro-nickel Machin Ironside 1969 120,270,000 1970 225,948,525 1971 81,783,475 1972 0 1973 0 1974 0 1975 141,539,000 1976 0 1977 24,308,000 1978 61,094,000 1979 155,456,000 1980 220,566,000 1981 0 1982 0 1983 0 1984 0 1985 0 Maklouf 1986 0 1987 48,220,000 1988 120,744,610 1989 101,406,000 1990 1,634,976,005 18.00 1991 724,979,000 1992 453,173,500 1993 0 1994 93,602,000 1995 183,384,000 1996 302,902,000 1997 236,596,000 1998 217,376,000 Rank-Broadley 1999 195,490,000 2000 388,512,000 2001 337,930,000 2002 219,258,000 2003 333,230,000 2004 271,810,000 2005 236,212,000 2006 317,697,000 2007 246,720,000 2008 92,880,000 165,172,000 Dent 2009 132,960,300 2010 396,245,500 2011 50,400,000 Nickel-plated steel 2012 339,802,350 2013 378,800,750 2014 885,004,520 2015 163,000,000 536,600,000 Clark 2016 305,740,000 2017 220,515,000 2018 0 2019 92,800,000 2020 49,200,000 2021 28,000,000 2022 42,800,000 2023 32,400,000 Jennings The Royal Mint 2024 0 Mint sets have been produced since 1982; where mintages on or after that date indicate '0', there are examples contained within those sets.
References
External links
Royal Mint – 5p coin Coins of the UK – Decimal 5p coins Online Coin Club: Five Pence, Coin Type from United Kingdom