Talk:History of the British penny (1837-1901)

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Talk:History of the British penny (1714-1901)

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I HAVE A 1862 VICTORIA D:G: BRITT:REG:F:D: ONE PENNY WITH A SHIP IN THE BACK GROUND ON THE RIGHT AND A LIGHT HOUSE IN BACK GROUND ON THE LEFT. COULD ANY ONE TELL ME WHAT IT WOULD BE WORTH IN AMERICAN MONEY.THE LADY ON THE FRONT IS FACING LEFT AND THE ROMAN ON THE BACK IS FACING RIGHT WITH A SHIELD ON IT SIDE.

As with all coins, the value depends on the condition of a coin, its rarity, and the state of the market -- the rarest coin will be worth nothing if no-one wants to buy it where it is being offered for sale.

That said, the British grading system for coins works like this (I will not touch the lunatic American grading system with 70 different grades!):-

1. Poor coins are very worn, and most of the detail of the coin will have gone, but you're still able to tell what type of coin it is.
2. Fair coins are well worn, but more of the detail of the coin is visible, and it is easy to identify the coin.
3. Good coins will have almost all the lettering readable, and the date will be easy to read in most cases.
4. Very Good coins will have all the coin readable, and some of the finer details of the design can start to be made out.
5. Fine coins will have the details of the coins taking shape, and the coin is starting to become collectable if it's fairly recent.
6. Very Fine coins will have all the details clear, and there will be wear only on the high points of the design, and most of the fine details shows clearly.
7. Extremely Fine coins will have wear on only the highest points of the design.
8. Uncirculated coins will have no wear on the high points of the design at all, though faults in the engraving, or wear on the die, may mean that the design may not be fully struck.

Under no circumstances should collectible coins be cleaned or polished -- this will destroy at least half its' collectible value.

Coming back to your 1862 penny, values for a bog-standard penny in UK Pounds, in Britain, are:

• F - GBP 4
• VF - GBP 10
• EF - GBP 40
• UNC - GBP 70

Lower grades are not worth anything much.

Multiply by 1.6 to get a US $ figure, then discount any amount for reduced interest in the coins in the States!

-- Arwel 18:10 3 Jul 2003 (UTC)

[edit] 1899 one penny (British)

I was cleaning out some old storage bins belonging to a deceased relative and came across several old coins. The oldest is an 1899 one penny with Queen Victoria's bust on one side in fine condition. There are 2 Half Crowns 1937 and 1954 in superior condition. The last coin is a two shilling 1953 in superior condition. My questions are two fold, one the value and secondly the meaning of the latin inscriptions? --Fullflow 05:35, 12 December 2006 (UTC)