{"id":1025,"date":"2026-01-25T18:27:57","date_gmt":"2026-01-25T07:27:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/gbc.31pendleton.com\/?p=1025"},"modified":"2026-01-27T15:28:32","modified_gmt":"2026-01-27T04:28:32","slug":"collection-focus-the-birmingham-connection-1874-h-penny","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gbc.31pendleton.com\/?p=1025","title":{"rendered":"Collection Focus: The Birmingham Connection (1874-H Penny)"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>As I continue to catalogue my collection, I find myself returning to my numismatic roots. Like many, I started collecting as a child, grabbing whatever interesting shapes and dates I could find. Over time, my focus narrowed, but I have always retained a soft spot for the British Penny.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This specific example holds a special place in my &#8220;Type Set&#8221; because it bridges two of my interests: the Victorian series and the industrial heritage of the Heaton Mint in Birmingham (the city where I grew up).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>The Historical Context: Help from Birmingham<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>By the 1870s, the Royal Mint at Tower Hill was struggling to keep up with the demand for bronze coinage. To alleviate the pressure, they outsourced production to&nbsp;<strong>Ralph Heaton &amp; Sons<\/strong>&nbsp;(The Mint, Birmingham).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Heaton struck pennies for the UK domestic market in 1874, 1875, 1876, 1881, and 1882. For a collector, spotting these requires a keen eye: you have to look for the tiny letter&nbsp;<strong>&#8220;H&#8221;<\/strong>&nbsp;hidden beneath the date.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>The Coin: 1874-H &#8220;Bun Head&#8221; Penny<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1000\" height=\"500\" src=\"https:\/\/gbc.31pendleton.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/GB-1874H-penny.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-1026\" srcset=\"https:\/\/gbc.31pendleton.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/GB-1874H-penny.jpg 1000w, https:\/\/gbc.31pendleton.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/GB-1874H-penny-300x150.jpg 300w, https:\/\/gbc.31pendleton.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/GB-1874H-penny-768x384.jpg 768w, https:\/\/gbc.31pendleton.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/GB-1874H-penny-520x260.jpg 520w, https:\/\/gbc.31pendleton.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/GB-1874H-penny-940x470.jpg 940w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Denomination:<\/strong>\u00a0One Penny (1d)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Monarch:<\/strong>\u00a0Victoria (Young Head \/ Bun Head)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Year:<\/strong>\u00a01874<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Mint:<\/strong>\u00a0Heaton, Birmingham (marked &#8216;H&#8217;)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Reference:<\/strong>\u00a0Spink 3955<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>The Variety:<\/strong><br>If you look at the reverse, directly under the date &#8220;1874&#8221;, you will see a small, distinct &#8220;H&#8221;. This confirms it was struck in Birmingham, not London.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Condition &amp; Grading<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Unlike the pristine 1860 I posted previously, this coin has lived a life. In numismatics, we often chase perfection, but there is a charm to a coin that has clearly done its job.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Obverse:<\/strong>\u00a0The portrait of the Queen shows significant wear. The intricate plaits of the &#8220;Bun&#8221; hair style have merged into a smoother profile, and the laurel wreath is worn flat, though the outline remains.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Reverse:<\/strong>\u00a0Britannia is visible, though the shield details (the Union Jack lines) have been worn away by decades of thumbs and pockets. The date and the crucial &#8220;H&#8221; mintmark remain bold and legible.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Surface:<\/strong>\u00a0The coin has a lighter, brassy tone, typical of bronze that has seen heavy circulation. There are numerous contact marks and some bruising to the rim, consistent with a coin that was used in commerce for many years.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Grade: Fine (F)<\/strong><br><em>In the US grading market, this would likely be graded as&nbsp;<strong>F 12<\/strong>&nbsp;or&nbsp;<strong>F 15<\/strong>.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>The Verdict<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>While this coin may not be &#8220;Uncirculated&#8221;, it is a vital part of the collection history. It represents the industrial capacity of Birmingham assisting the Crown. Finding a Heaton penny where the &#8220;H&#8221; is still clear and distinct is always a small victory for the collector. It is an honest, hardworking coin.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Further Reading &amp; Data:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/url?sa=E&amp;q=https%3A%2F%2Fen.numista.com%2Fcatalogue%2Fpieces578.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">View 1874-H Penny Specifications on Numista<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/url?sa=E&amp;q=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.search.com%2Fweb%3Fq%3Dhistory%2Bof%2Bralph%2Bheaton%2Band%2Bsons\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">The History of the Heaton Mint<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>As I continue to catalogue my collection, I find myself returning to my numismatic roots. Like many, I started collecting&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1026,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[74,131,132],"tags":[83,98,108],"wf_post_folders":[],"class_list":["post-1025","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-victoria-1837-1901","category-coins","category-gb-coins","tag-bronze","tag-heaton-mint","tag-penny"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/gbc.31pendleton.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/GB-1874H-penny.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/gbc.31pendleton.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1025","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/gbc.31pendleton.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/gbc.31pendleton.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gbc.31pendleton.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gbc.31pendleton.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1025"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/gbc.31pendleton.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1025\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1027,"href":"https:\/\/gbc.31pendleton.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1025\/revisions\/1027"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gbc.31pendleton.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/1026"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/gbc.31pendleton.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1025"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gbc.31pendleton.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1025"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gbc.31pendleton.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1025"},{"taxonomy":"wf_post_folders","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gbc.31pendleton.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fwf_post_folders&post=1025"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}