History of the British penny (1901–1970)
No new pennies were produced for commerce in 1933, because a sufficient number were already in circulation, but at least seven were struck that year, mostly for placement beneath foundation stones and in museums; today they are valuable.
Although commerce did not require them in 1953, pennies which bore the likeness of Elizabeth II were minted in sets which were sold to the public, using an obverse design by Mary Gillick.
Following the death of Queen Victoria on 22 January 1901, officials at the Royal Mint planned for new coins, to bear the image of her son and successor, Edward VII.
At that time, the Engraver of the Royal Mint, George William de Saulles, had modified Leonard Charles Wyon's depiction of Britannia on the reverse of the bronze coins—the lighthouse and sailing ship that had flanked her were removed.
[3] The King sat for de Saulles twice, in February and June 1901, and the engraver also used a drawing of Edward by court painter Emil Fuchs.
The unadorned bust of the King that resulted is in low relief, as de Saulles sought a coin that would be easy for the Royal Mint to strike.
Even so, the relatively large size of the head caused metal flow problems for the penny once issued, resulting in "ghosting", a faint outline of the obverse design visible on the reverse.
[6] The inscription around the left-facing bust reads GEORGIVS V DEI GRA BRITT OMN REX FID DEF IND IMP,[b] while no significant change was made to the reverse design.
[9] This was due to high demand for small change, initially caused by the 1911 implementation of the National Insurance Act by the Asquith government,[10] and thereafter by the war years.
The weight when in bulk caused problems for business; the London Passenger Transport Board received 6,000 tonnes of pennies, halfpennies and farthings a year.
This twelve-sided piece was introduced since threepence worth of pennies or halfpennies was heavy and inconvenient, and the silver threepenny bit was deemed too small.
To prevent possible further theft, John Moorman, Bishop of Ripon, ordered that the 1933 penny placed under St Mary's Church, Hawksworth Wood, Kirkstall, Leeds, be unearthed and sold, which it was.
The obverse, by Humphrey Paget, shows a left-facing portrait of the King, who considered this to be his best side, and wished to break the tradition of alternating with each change of reign the direction in which the monarch faces on coins.
[c][24] When the Royal Mint's Advisory Committee were considering the question of new designs for King Edward's coinage, they did not favour a new look for the penny.
Officials felt this too aggressive at a delicate international time, and the ship was not restored, but the lighthouse was placed on Edward's patterns, and would be kept on the penny until its abolition after 1970.
[27] George's pennies (1937–1952) have a left-facing bust of him, also by Paget, with the inscription (to 1948) GEORGIVS VI D G BR OMN REX F D IND IMP,[d] and (from 1949) GEORGIVS VI D G BR OMN REX FIDEI DEF,[e] removing the Latin abbreviation for "Emperor of India" after that nation had gained independence.
[29] Although the 2000 edition of the Coincraft catalogue of British coins says the wartime pause was due to a surplus of pennies,[28] numismatist Kerry Rodgers, in his 2016 article on the currency emergency in Fiji during the Second World War, cited a colonial legislative record to the effect that it was to conserve copper for munitions.
[33] Although the prewar alloy was restored in 1945, the Mint reversed itself in 1959, made pennies out of that wartime composition for the remainder of the coin's pre-decimal history without chemical treatment, and continued its use for the new decimal bronze pieces.
[35] The immediate aftermath of the war had seen a strong demand for pennies until January 1949, when it dropped off and, in May of that year, the Royal Mint stopped the coin's production.
Officials concluded that the fall in demand was permanent due to inflation; its purchasing power was minimal, and many automatic machines no longer took it.
The Royal Mint redeemed surplus coppers from the banks for melting beginning in 1951, and by the end of the decade, some £1.2 million worth had been removed from circulation.
Both mintages were low compared with earlier George VI pennies, and London dealers descended on the islands, offering a pound a coin.
[31] Finally, there was an issue of proof quality coins dated 1970 for collectors, to bid farewell to a denomination which had served the country well for 1200 years.
