UK: the 1933 Lavrillier pattern penny

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UK Lavrillier pattern penny of 1933.

Images © of Heritage Auctions.

According to the Royal Mint:

The banks possessed such large stocks of pennies in 1933 that it was not necessary to strike any more for general circulation. But there was a convention at the time that complete sets of coins of the current year were buried under the foundation stones of new buildings. Consequently three 1933 pennies were struck for buildings erected in that year, along with a small number to be kept as record copies by the British Museum and the Royal Mint Museum.

See the Royal Mint Museum's topic on the subject: 1933 penny.

See my own topic on the subject: 1933 penny.

The 1933 pennies that were minted were of the standard design, with Bertram MacKennal's portrait of King George V on the obverse.

Less well-known is the fact that in 1933 the Royal Mint invited French sculptor André-Henri Lavrillier to design a new portrait of George V. Four pattern pennies, bearing Lavrillier's portrait, were minted as examples only. Ultimately, however, the Royal Mint did not approve Lavrillier's portrait.

The auctioneer Baldwin's sold one of Lavrillier's pattern pennies in 2016. See: New World Record.

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Two of Lavrillier's designs for France and Romania.

See:  Similar design coins.