1937 Edward VIII Penny

Specifications

Denomination: 1 penny
Series: Edward VIII pattern coinage (1937)
Designer: Thomas Humphrey Paget (obverse)
Years of issue: 1937
Weight: 9.45 g
Diameter: 30.81 mm
Edge: Plain
Key mintages: Unknown; trial proofs only — never issued following the December 1936 abdication. Known-specimen claims conflict (1–3).

AI-generated illustration (no usable free real photo found). Design reference: Online Coin Club Edward VIII penny page, Spink Waterbird Collection sale.

1–3 known (sources disagree): the 1937 Edward VIII bronze penny is a trial proof never issued; Spink's Waterbird specimen made £110,000 hammer (£133,000 all-in) in September 2019.

History

No British circulating coinage of Edward VIII exists; only trial proofs and patterns were produced before the December 1936 abdication. (Online Coin Club, accessed 2026-09-16)
The pattern penny carries Paget’s left-facing uncrowned bust with HP initials below the truncation and the legend EDWARDVS VIII D:G:BR:OMN:REX F:D:IND:IMP. (Online Coin Club, accessed 2026-09-16)
The reverse is a modified seated Britannia — ‘more statuesque and slightly smaller’ — with a lighthouse bearing three incuse windows to the left, ONE PENNY flanking, and 1937 in exergue. (Online Coin Club, accessed 2026-09-16)
Spink’s Waterbird Collection sale (24 Sept 2019): the pattern penny, graded NGC PF63+ RB, made £110,000 hammer (£133,000 with premium) — a UK auction record for a copper coin. It had last appeared at auction in 1978 (Bowers & Ruddy ANA sale) and sold privately in 2003 for a reported £35,000. (Learn Antiques, via Antiques Trade Gazette; Numismatic News, accessed 2026-09-16)
Edward VIII patterns were struck for thirteen denominations as brilliant and matt proofs; for half the denominations only one example is in private hands — and one of the two brilliant-proof pennies known privately sits in the complete 12-coin pattern set once sold by private treaty through Spink for £450,000. (Numismatic News, accessed 2026-09-16)

Key dates and varieties

1937 pattern proof penny — known-specimen claims conflict: 1 (Wikipedia, Edward VIII coins) / R7, 3 or fewer (Online Coin Club) / two brilliant proofs in private hands plus institutional holdings (Spink, via Numismatic News)
Sept 2019 — Spink Waterbird Collection: £110,000 hammer / £133,000 all-in, a UK auction record for a copper coin (Learn Antiques, via Antiques Trade Gazette)

Specifications

alignment
composition
designers
diameter
edge
mint
weight

Collector notes

KEY DIAGNOSTIC MARKERS: the obverse legend must read EDWARDVS VIII — George VI pennies are also dated 1937 and his bust also faces left, so the legend (not the portrait direction) is the decisive marker; ‘HP’ initials below the truncation confirm Paget. Reverse must show the modified seated Britannia facing right with a lighthouse to the left, ONE PENNY flanking, and 1937 in exergue. (Online Coin Club)
KNOWN-SPECIMEN CONFLICT: Wikipedia’s table lists 1 penny; Online Coin Club rates it R7 (3 or fewer known); Spink (via Numismatic News, 2019) described ‘two brilliant proof pennies known in private hands’ alongside museum holdings. Treat every population claim for this coin as unverified.
The 2019 Waterbird coin last appeared at auction in 1978 and sold privately in 2003 for a reported £35,000 — price history is too thin for any reliable market value between landmark sales. (Numismatic News)
Not listed in Krause or Remick, and listed in Spink without an ID number — any piece offered with a catalog number is suspect; patterns were brilliant and matt proofs, never circulation strikes. (Online Coin Club; Numismatic News)