12 May 2016
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1933 Pattern Penny
A 1933 Pattern Penny was recently sold at Baldwin’s auction room in London for £72,000, breaking the world record for a copper or bronze coin sold at auction.
A 1933 Pattern Penny was recently sold at Baldwin’s auction room in London for £72,000, breaking the world record for a copper or bronze coin sold at auction.
The 1933 Lavrillier Pattern Penny, sold on 4 May, is one of only four Patterns ever made and attracted bids from all over the world, before two telephone bidders ‘went toe-to-toe for over five minutes’ as the price climbed towards the record-breaking price.
A spokesperson for Baldwin’s said: ‘The currency version of the 1933 Penny is well documented, but the Pattern version… is even rarer. In 1932 the Royal Mint had a surplus of pennies, so no more currency versions were produced. In fact, only seven pennies with the 1933 date were minted for ceremonial and record purposes.'
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While one example of the rare coin is held in the Royal Mint Museum, the other three are in private hands.
Thanks to this scarcity, the coin attracted interest from collectors in countries including Australia, USA, and New Zealand, with bidders flying in from all over the world to view the auction live. However, the coin was eventually sold to a private collector for a price that was out of reach for most everyday collectors.
