Type 4 & 5 - 1992 ten pences

[Sylvester 52]

I'm looking for BU/UNC 1992 small ten pence coins of Type 4 and Type 5.

Type 4 has L,I pointing between dots on obv and 1 in 10 pointing between dots on rev.

Type 5 has L,I pointing at dots on obv and 1 in 10 pointing at a dot on rev.

 

I only have VF specimens, I would love some UNC specimens.

Edited March 10 by Sylvester

[secret santa 2,382]

How many types are there ?

I have 4 1992 10p's, all with the I pointing to a gap and the 1 pointing to a bead.

[Sylvester 52]

There are five types. About 1.5 billion coins struck so most types are excessively common.

Type - Edge - Obv. L/I point... / Rev. 1 points...

Type 1 - Wire edge - Between / At
Type 2 - Flat edge - Between / At
Type 3 - Flat edge - At / Between
Type 4 - Flat edge - Between / Between
Type 5 - Flat edge - At / At

 

Type 1 = 40% of the mintage (All released to circulation).

Type 2 = 40% of the mintage (Almost all released to circulation - some issue in 'Farewell to the Florin' first day covers).

Type 3 = approx. 20% of the mintage (Released to circulation and also included in all mint/proof sets).

Type 4 = < 1% of the mintage (All released to circulation).

Type 5 = much less than 1% of the mintage (All released to circulation).

The first 3 types are excessively common, ubiquitous you could say. But also, as they were the first types out when the 10p was shrunk, a fair few were put on side by people who kept the new coins. Type 1 and 2 can be got in UNC with some effort to find, they're not too common in mint state. Type 3 is readily available in BU, nothing rare there.

Type 4 and 5, as pictured in my first post, can be found in change with a lot of searching. They are out there, but the highest graded Type 4s (Between/Between) I've found were VF grade and the highest Type 5s (At/At) were EF. I don't think they exist in UNC any more.

Edited March 11 by Sylvester

[secret santa 2,382]

Interesting - are these varieties formally documented anywhere ?

[Peckris 2 2,189]

I remember that @scott had a strong interest in these varieties at one time.

[secret santa 2,382]

I can feel a new website coming on - maybe next winter.

[Sylvester 52]

22 hours ago, secret santa said:

Interesting - are these varieties formally documented anywhere ?

In a word no, that I know of. Informally, yes. Tony Clayton listed them some time back, at least for the 1992 issues and then indicated two reverse types for the 2005 and 2006, but left their rarities unknown. I thus became aware of them in around 2008. I then went on a more thorough investigation of the 1993-2008 series and discovered that the two reverse types were issued most of those years. I presented my findings back to Tony Clayton and they've been on his website ever since.

That said, I've never liked his designation of Obv.1 and Obv.2. I always thought Obv. B and Obv. A would be better as the letter would state the type clearly without having to look it up!

So rather than Obv. 1 / Rev. B it would be much clearer to state Obv. B / Rev. B, i.e. Between/Between - a Type 4.

I don't know where Tony got his mintage estimates from though.

I have contacted Chris to ask if these types are of interest or already known about, however, I know he's not around much these days, so I'm still awaiting a response.

I also handed my findings to Numista as well, but they haven't updated their website yet.

From what I have found, the 2006 Type A (AT reverse - a circulation only type) seems to actually be rare. I've known about it since 2007, and have only found two in change. I bought another from eBay last week, an actual UNC. I never thought I'd find one of those. Other that that Tony Clayton has only found 1, and someone on Numista spent a year searching before finding theirs.

Bear in mind these a coin types that are 'sleepers' and under the radar, there's probably less than a dozen people in the country actually looking for them. If only a dozen people cared about the Kew Gardens 50p, how many would you see regularly?

[secret santa 2,382]

28 minutes ago, Sylvester said:

I presented my findings back to Tony Clayton and they've been on his website ever since.

Could you provide the link please.

[Sylvester 52]

Link to Tony Clayton's site (Die Varieties listed near the bottom)

https://www.coins-of-the-uk.co.uk/dec10.html

 

The most up to date info:

1992

Type - Edge type: Obv L,I points…/Rev. 1 in 10 points…

Type 1 - Wire edge: Between/At (Extremely Common)

Type 2 - Flat edge: Between/At (Extremely Common)

Type 3 - Flat edge: At/Between (Very Common & this is the type in the Proof & BU mint sets)

Type 4 - Flat edge: Between/Between (Scarce)

Type 5 - Flat edge: At/At (Scarcer)

1993-2008
These coins come with two reverse types; At or Between (as above). The type in the Proof/BU mint sets are always Between types. The circulation issues started out as always At types, but this changes from 2005 - more on that later. As the 'At' types were always a full release into circulation there are plenty of them comparative to the Between types, BUT they will all be circulated, usually very heavily. Uncirculated ‘At’ types are pretty scarce to outright rare. The general issue is:

 

1993 Type B (BU mint sets only)

1994 Type B (BU mint sets only)

1995 Type A (Circulation only)

1995 Type B (BU mint sets only)

1996 Type A (Circulation only)

1996 Type B (BU mint sets only)

1997 Type A (Circulation only)

1997 Type B (BU mint sets only)

1998 Type B (BU mint sets only)

1999 Type B (BU mint sets only)

2000 Type A (Circulation only)

2000 Type B (BU mint sets only)

2001 Type A (Circulation only)

2001 Type B (BU mint sets only)

2002 Type A (Circulation only)

2002 Type B (BU mint sets only)

2003 Type A (Circulation only)

2003 Type B (BU mint sets only)

2004 Type A (Circulation only)

2004 Type B (BU mint sets only)

 

Then in 2005 there begins a change. The Between type becomes a circulation coin as well as the mint set/Proof type. Eventually, it replaces the At type completely. So for 2005 and 2006 we have:

 

2005 Type A (Circulation only)

2005 Type B (Circulation & BU mint sets)

2006 Type A (Circulation only) - Rare

2006 Type B (Circulation & BU mint sets)

 

The 2005 types are pretty similar, either reverse can turn up in change, approx 50/50 chance. The 2006 issue though is very different. The Between type is the vast majority. The At type is near impossible to find.

From 2007 it then settles into this pattern:

2007 Type B (Circulation & BU mint sets)

2008 Type B (Circulation & BU mint sets)

 

I am not aware of any At types for these two dates, if they do exist, they haven't been discovered yet!

[richtips86 26]

On 3/10/2025 at 6:50 PM, Sylvester said:

I'm looking for BU/UNC 1992 small ten pence coins of Type 4 and Type 5.

Type 4 has L,I pointing between dots on obv and 1 in 10 pointing between dots on rev.

Type 5 has L,I pointing at dots on obv and 1 in 10 pointing at a dot on rev.

 

I only have VF specimens, I would love some UNC specimens.

Have you tried Michael Gouby? He has some decent coins, although not at UNC.

I got a Type 5 a few years back from him at EF+ which was probably as stated

http://www.michael-coins.co.uk/GB10pence.htm

[Sylvester 52]

Yep. I've bought a few from him, but he didn't have any Type 4s and the Type 5 was only EF, one of which I already have. No UNC for these types though.