Edward VII Penny Coins (1902-1910)

Edward VII Penny Coins

The bust shown on the face of the Edward VII penny is taken from an engraving by George William de Saulles and a small De S can be seen directly underneath the bust. The reverse of the coin shows a seated Brittania, the words "ONE PENNY" in upper case letters and a date underneath. Edward VII pennies date from 1902-1910 and their value as collectable items depends on their condition and some other rather unusual features.

Low Tide Pennies

On the reverse of the Edward VII Penny, the tide is shown as a horizontal line just above the highest fold in the bottom of Brittania's dress. A low tide penny is one of the most well know and sought-after varieties and the tide line is just below the lower fold of the dress. Low tide pennies are not date dependant and could have been minted in any year between 1902 and 1910.

1903 Open '3' Penny

In 1903 the typical '3' on the reverse of the penny was closed, with the bottom of the digit curling up to meet the centre. A variation on this shows the 3 as being more open, with hardly any curve to the bottom. Much rarer than the closed 3, this makes this penny a good collector's item.

1908 Reverse C Penny

In this variation from 1908, the G in GRA on the face of the penny is tilted slightly, anticlockwise and the colon (:) after "BRTITT" is in line with a border tooth, whereas it's in line with a gap on the normal penny. These tiny differences are enough to make these pennies much higher in value than their 'normal' counterparts and therefore of much more interest to serious collectors.

Condition

Overall, the value of the Edward VII Penny is determined by its condition. These pennies were widely produced and used in everyday tender, so getting a coin that has mint or near mint condition is relatively difficult. The better the condition the higher the collectable and resale value.