2019 10 Pence Coin – T – Tea

Queen Elizabeth II is the current and longest reigning monarch ever. Born on 21 April 1926 to King George VI and Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon, she became Queen in 1952 and her Coronation was on 2 June 1953.

Queen Elizabeth II has issued many coins and was monarch during decimalisation.
The Ten Pence coin (10p) was introduced in 1968 as a prelude to replacing the Florin (2 shilling) after decimalisation in 1971. Up until 1982 the coins were marked NEW PENCE but after that were just marked TEN PENCE.

Initially the ten pence was the same size as the 2 shilling coin, but was resized in 1992 to a smaller and much lighter coin. In 2012 the metal changed from Cupro-Nickel to Nickel-plated steel. Edges are milled. Some 10p coins are also minted as silver proofs.

In 2018 a major series of 26 coins were introduced to represent an A to Z of "iconic themes that are quintessentially British". The set was repeated in 2019.

There are probably more than 1600 million 10p coins in circulation.The Royal Mint is the designated place for the UK to mint coins. It dates back well over 1000 years and is a Government-owned company. 

Formed in the reign of Alfred the Great about the year 886, during the period 1279-1812 it was generally referred to as The Tower Mint as it was housed at the Tower of London. The Master of The Royal Mint has included famous figures such as Sir Isaac Newton.

Since 2010 it has operated as Royal Mint Ltd, a company owned by HM Treasury, under an exclusive contract to supply all coinage for the UK although it also produces medals and coins for other countries. It is currently located at Llantrisant, Wales.

There is also an on-line shop at The Royal Mint Shop.
The United Kingdom (UK) is the Union of England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. It is often refered to as Great Britain (GBR). It has a long, rich history.

The orignal coinage was Pounds, Shillings and Pence but since decimalisation on 15 February 1971, it is £1 = 100p, that is One Pound = 100 pence. The coinage of the UK is also a long history, the Royal Mint being established as long ago as 886AD when coins were hammered. Today there is perhaps 30 billion coins in circulation, and many (numismatic) collectors coins and sets are issued frequently in gold, silver and other metals.