1997 Silver UK One Pence

Welcome to the forum.

Such a coin should not exist!

Possible explanations could be -

1. Somebody has electroplated it. If this is the case, you might find places where it is wearing off, or the attachment point for the wire. This is fairly common.

2. From 1992 pennies have been made of copper-plated steel, to save money in manufacture. Perhaps this penny somehow wasn't plated? Is it magnetic?

3. The penny was struck on a blank for a different coin. This would be rare and worth a little bit on ebay.


There is a 1996 silver proof listed in the coin yearbook, but not one for 1997. Does anyone know if in fact one was made for 1997?

Pictures, size and weight would help decide.

Almost certainly plated. What is the weight, please?



to the CCF!

I weighed the silver coloured 1p today, it weighs 3.35g and the normal 1p weighed 3.53g. so it appears to be lighter than a standard coin.

These do turn up occasionally and known as Off metal strikes I have had a few.
The Royal Mint used to be able to confirm them as genuine if they were ,although it did used to take a while.
I would mention though the ones I had looked like they had just been minted and were UNC / BU as they would stand out and so soon taken out of circulation.
Looking at the picture though I think its more likely to just be plated and suggest you make a tiny scratch on the edge with a pin ,as then the bronze colour may show underneath.