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Out of curiosity is the image at http://www.coins-of-the-uk.co.uk/pics/pen5.html of a real 1954 penny? I only ask as I was intending to count the beads but given it is described as being anonymously donated I wanted to be sure it wasn't just a modified 1953.

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I might be wrong but isn't the 1954 penny in the British Museum collection? If it is they should be able to provide a photo for research.

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Hm, not sure. I searched their collection online and couldn't find one, and I thought it was privately owned but I'm not sure.

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No it is in private hands, and is a currency strike; the sole 1952 a proof. I can't say as I've seen the -54 personally but seem to recall that Mark Rasmussen had it it stock at one time. Don't see any reason to doubt the veracity of these pictures....

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This is a reply I received from a Freedom of Information Act request made in 2011. One of the questions concerned the 1954 penny:-

----- Original Message -----
To:
Sent: Wednesday, May 04, 2011 1:21 PM
Subject: The Royal Mint

Dear Mr

I am writing in reply to your Freedom of Information request of 30 April.

To take each of your questions in turn:

(1) The Royal Mint Annual Report for 1882 states that no bronze coinage was struck at the Royal Mint during the year and that all the bronze coinage required was executed in Birmingham. We are aware however that an un-mintmarked type is recorded in standard catalogues.

(2) We are unable to break down the mintage figure for 1926-dated pennies into the two different types.

(3) The 1954-dated penny is listed as unique in standard catalogues but we are unable to say for certain that only one survived from the trial run of several hundreds.

(4) No 1953-dated pennies were issued for general circulation.

Yours sincerely

Joseph Payne

Assistant Curator

The Royal Mint

Thought it may be of possible interest.

Edited by 1949threepence
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Out of curiosity is the image at http://www.coins-of-the-uk.co.uk/pics/pen5.html of a real 1954 penny? I only ask as I was intending to count the beads but given it is described as being anonymously donated I wanted to be sure it wasn't just a modified 1953.

All 1954 coins have new obverse without BRITT OMN, so genuine

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49 3d - That is a very nice bit of information, and I think one would have to keep it in mind prior to spending a fortune on a specimen at the potential for others to be about remains.

Without pirating the thread, I wonder in the recent ESC by Bull as to on what authority there is now a SECOND currency 1952 half crown?

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in the seventies i hear it was in private hands - it does seem unusual the bm does not have one .......but when a coin is that rare..........

Interesting about the 1953 pennies though, they are often found in circulated grade - prob folks who found themselves a bit skint in the late fiffties and broke the 1953 plastic set open , it was for sale with no premium attatched then - unlike the mint of today that charges £12 for a £5 coin and £8 for a £2 coin , basicly double or more than the price of the coin , excessive overchargeing for the packaging IMO

Edited by copper123

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I think it almost a given that at least one more 1954 will come to light. If they made a couple hundred, then I can't believe only one got out.

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I wanted to be sure it wasn't just a modified 1953.

This got me thinking, I don't ever recall hearing of a fake or fasimile 1954. A quick search on Ebay, finds sites who will sell me a:-

gothic 1847, jubillee 1887, 1937 Ed VIII, or 1952

1933

or a museum quality facsimile of an 1862 penny!

but no 1954, so I widened my search to international sellers and found this extraordinary fabrication

24 sold but there are 5 left if you bid now

:)

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TBH I think the idea another 1954 penny will turn up now after all this time since decimalisation is a bit laughable .

If i was an underighter I would gladly give the owner of the 1954 a policy against anothers appearence , money for old rope

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TBH I think the idea another 1954 penny will turn up now after all this time since decimalisation is a bit laughable .

If i was an underighter I would gladly give the owner of the 1954 a policy against anothers appearence , money for old rope

And I would happily take out such a policy, subject to a solvency test to make sure you can pay out.

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I wanted to be sure it wasn't just a modified 1953.

This got me thinking, I don't ever recall hearing of a fake or fasimile 1954. A quick search on Ebay, finds sites who will sell me a:-

gothic 1847, jubillee 1887, 1937 Ed VIII, or 1952

1933

or a museum quality facsimile of an 1862 penny!

but no 1954, so I widened my search to international sellers and found this extraordinary fabrication

24 sold but there are 5 left if you bid now

:)

Wow, it's even got the King's head on the obverse, two years after he died ;)

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A batch of 1954 pennies were struck to test the dies. The mint decided not to issue these or strike anymore as there were plenty of pennies in circulation. As you are probably aware there were no British pennies struck until 1961. The mint ordered all pennies dated 1954 to be melted.

It is believed that just one penny escaped melting and surfaced years later. It is not known whether the coin was stolen or just found its way into circulation with a batch of pennies after 1961. The coin has changed hands quite a few times and is in a private collection. The coin pictured on the "Tony Clayton" site is of the genuine coin.

About ten years ago a 1954 penny was advertised on Ebay. This coin was clearly a fake, as it had the obverse of 1953 pennies. At that time I advised the seller that it was most likely that the coin was a fake and asked her what she would do if it sold for £50,000 ! and the problems that could follow if the buyer contested its authenticity, the Ebay fee's, the Paypal charges etc. The lady selling the coin immediately removed the listing and the coin disappeared off the radar.

I am attaching the pictures of the coin auctioned on Ebay, not very good pictures that were copied at the time.

post-5652-0-65962500-1447618255_thumb.jp

post-5652-0-38168400-1447618288_thumb.jp

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thanks Bernie. That 4's position quite wonky.

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Another interesting little snippet on 1954 pennies from the Chard website

1954 Pattern Pennies
As in many years, no pennies were needed for circulation, for example, no pennies were minted from 1923 to 1925, so none were produced or issued for circulation.
In 1954, the Royal Mint were still trying to solve the problems of ghosting, and they continued to produce a number of experimental designs. A small number of these were tested by striking coins, pennies, from the experimental die designs. As these were not intended for circulation, they were never issued. Some of these are "uniface", that is they are single-sided, the opposite side remaining blank. The writer had personally seen and handled two such coins, at the British Museum Coin Room, about 20 years ago.
This type of coin, not intended for circulation, is usually known as a "pattern" coin.
Only about six pieces were produced in total, two belong to the British Museum collection, others are in the Royal Mint's collection.
Edited by 1949threepence

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I am not so certain how much credence should be given to Chard's write-up on the 1954 penny. It appears that they have simply copied their write-up on the 1933 penny and changed the date to 1954. http://24carat.co.uk/frame.php?url=1933penny.html

In fact if you look at the entire write-up on the 1954 you will still see a few places where they forgot to change the date.

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I am not so certain how much credence should be given to Chard's write-up on the 1954 penny. It appears that they have simply copied their write-up on the 1933 penny and changed the date to 1954. http://24carat.co.uk/frame.php?url=1933penny.html

In fact if you look at the entire write-up on the 1954 you will still see a few places where they forgot to change the date.

You're right. It loses all credence immediately, seeing that.

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Thanks all for the input.

Apparently there was a sale of it in 1983 at least.

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Honestly, the fact that other specimens are not known even after 60 years does NOT preclude other specimens being in private hands. By recall, the 1862 half sov went unknown for 117 years!!!!

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