Extremely rare copper coin struck for short-lived reign of King Edward VIII sells for record price

An extremely rare copper coin struck for the short-lived reign of King Edward VIII has sold for a record price of £133,000.

The 1937 Pattern Penny was produced as a trial coin by the Royal Mint in anticipation of his coronation that year. 

But it never entered mass production, because Edward abdicated in December 1936 to marry American socialite Wallis Simpson – ending his ten-month reign. 

The 1937 Pattern Penny was produced as a trial coin by the Royal Mint in anticipation of his coronation that year

Only a handful of trial specimens were produced, making them rare and desirable to collectors. A version of this coin was last auctioned in 1978.

The coin’s sale yesterday sparked an international bidding war when it went under the hammer at London’s Spink and Son. 

It it thought to have gone to a British private collector, who paid more than double the £60,000 estimate.

The coin achieved a hammer price of £111,000, with extra fees taking the overall figure paid to £133,200. 

The current world record for a British Penny is a 1933 George V coin, which sold in New York for £150,000 in 2016.