1918 KN Penny: King’s Norton Metal Co. Issue

Specifications

Denomination: 1 penny
Series: George V bronze penny
Designer: Obverse: Bertram MacKennal; Reverse: Leonard Charles Wyon
Years of issue: 1918-1919 (KN issues)
Weight: 9.4 g
Diameter: 30.8 mm
Edge: Plain
Key mintages: Not separately recorded; combined 1918 H+KN estimated at ~3,660,800

Look left of the date: the tiny 'KN' marks pennies struck by the King's Norton Metal Co. in 1918–19 — the scarcest of the three 1918 penny mints.

History

During 1918 and 1919, wartime demand for small change outran the Royal Mint's capacity, so the Mint called on two Birmingham subcontractors: the Heaton Mint and the King's Norton Metal Co. Ltd. Their pennies are identified by a small 'H' or 'KN' mintmark in the exergue, to the far left of the date; Royal Mint London strikes carry no mintmark (Grimsby Telegraph; Online Coin Club).
The King's Norton Metal Co. was primarily a metals and munitions manufacturer — its brief coinage contract in 1918–19 makes the KN penny a two-year wartime emergency issue (Grimsby Telegraph).
Of the three 1918 penny varieties, the KN is the scarcest in the marketplace: London struck 84,227,372, while the Heaton and King's Norton outputs are not separately recorded — the combined H+KN 1918 mintage is estimated at roughly 3,660,800 (Online Coin Club; All Coin Values).

Retail guide values for the 1918 KN penny run from about £5 in Very Good to £15 in Fine, £65 in Very Fine, £430 in Extremely Fine, and £1,100–£1,500+ in About Uncirculated/Uncirculated — the variety is described as "scarce in higher grades" (All Coin Values).
Worn examples are common and cheap; the money is in original mint-red or near-mint survivors, which rarely come to market (All Coin Values).

Lowest output of the three 1918 mints, with no separately published KN mintage — scarcity by obscurity (Online Coin Club; All Coin Values).
Condition rarity: as a circulating wartime bronze coin, high-grade survivors are genuinely scarce (All Coin Values).
Collector demand for the complete 1918 three-mint set (London, H, KN) (Grimsby Telegraph).

Find the mintmark: a small 'KN' in the exergue on the reverse, far left of the 1918 date. 'H' is Heaton (also collectible but more common); no mark is London (Online Coin Club).
Confirm the type: George V bare-head obverse by Bertram MacKennal, seated Britannia reverse by Leonard Charles Wyon, bronze, 9.4 g, 30.8 mm, plain edge (All Coin Values).
Added mintmarks are the classic forgery on scarce variety coins — a 'KN' that looks engraved rather than struck, or a coin whose wear doesn't match its surfaces, deserves professional authentication before you pay a premium (All Coin Values).

Composition: Bronze (All Coin Values)
Weight: 9.4 g (All Coin Values)
Diameter: 30.8 mm (All Coin Values)
Edge: Plain (All Coin Values; Online Coin Club)
Designers: Obverse: Bertram MacKennal; reverse: Leonard Charles Wyon (All Coin Values)
Mint marks: 'KN' (King's Norton Metal Co., Birmingham); also 'H' (Heaton) and no mark (London) for the date (Online Coin Club)
Mintage: Not separately recorded; combined 1918 H+KN mintage estimated at approximately 3,660,800 (All Coin Values; Online Coin Club)

No verified public-domain photograph of a 1918 KN penny was located — this entry ships imageless. Do not confuse the British 1918 KN penny with the 1918-Heaton or the Australian 1918 penny, a different coin from the Calcutta mint (Online Coin Club).