At London auction house Baldwin's, an extremely rare penny has sold for £72,000, and this was world record-breaking.
The 1933 penny may be the most famous British coin of the 20th century. In August, Heritage Auctions sold the example that was formerly in the Emory May Norweb Collection.
Exergue Area of Pseudo 1933 Penny No British Bronze Pennies Were Issued Dated 1933 The 1933 is one of Britain's most famous coin rarities. Many other coins are of equal or greater rarity, but for some reason the 1933 has become the best known of these rarities.
1933 United Kingdom halfpenny value. What is a 1933 half penny worth? Values, images, and specifications for the 1933 1/2 penny coin from UK, Britain, England, Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland.
The 1933 penny was presented as a prototype, but unfortunately never made it to production. In fact, the coin is so rare there are only four in existence.
It's the first time one of these 'Pattern' coins has been seen in auction; the other three are in private hands, and the newly-sold coin now belongs to a private collector as well.
The sale of the penny is said to highlight the strength of the British numismatic market, as people are prepared to pay for quality and rarity now as much as they ever were.
How did the coin come about?
At the Royal Mint meeting of the ‘Standing Committee on Coins Medals and Decorations’ in 1931, the agenda had George V at the centre as the Committee decided to redesign the penny with his likeness as the key development.
French sculptor and medallist André-Marie Lavrillier was commissioned to create the new bronze penny to remove ghosting from bronze coinage once and for all.
1933 Penny Value
In 1932, the Royal Mint had an excess of pennies, so no more currency versions were needed the following year.
In fact, only seven pennies with the 1933 date were minted for ceremonial and record purposes. The actual currency coins are thought to be worth twice as much as the Pattern versions.
Bidding war
Perhaps unsurprisingly, there was a lot of bidder interest in the special coin. Baldwin’s said it had requests from countries such as Australia, United States, New Zealand, with potential bidders flying in from all over the world to view the auction live.
Unfortunately for the revellers, it wasn't meant to be, as a private collector made an offer that couldn't be beaten and was well above what many could afford to bid.
Richard West at Baldwin's described the sale as 'one of the most successful that we have conducted in our 140 history'.
The initial estimate for the coin was between £35,000 and £45,000, according to West. While the £72,000 figure is eye-catching, that record could be smashed if one of the actual currency version were to become available. 'The currency version has not been sold at auction for over 25 years, so how much it would go for is a bit of a guess.
1933 Penny For Sale
'That being said, given its rarity and general popularity, then we would probably be looking at over double the price realised for the Pattern version.'