T 10p: Tea
The T 10p celebrates the British pot of tea with a steaming teapot beside a tall letter T. It is one of the A to Z 10ps of 2018 and 2019, and people check it to find out whether a teapot 10p from their change is worth more than face value. It is one of the 26 A to Z 10p coins and one of the 31 10p designs struck since 1968.
T 10p value
- Circulated
- typical £3.80, range £3.40 to £4.40
- Uncirculated
- typical £5, range £3.90 to £8
Worked out from 13 published prices (6 price guides, 4 dealer prices and 3 sold-price reports), each condition from its own prices, checked in September 2026.
Rarity rank 6 of 30 ranked 10p designs, rarest first (joint)
Rarity: Very rareThe teapot 10p went into general circulation on both dates, so plenty of worn examples exist, and they change hands for more than face value among people completing the set. The 2019 date is the scarcer one. Condition makes the bigger difference: a crisp teapot and letter with few knocks is worth more than a coin rubbed smooth in a purse. Coins still in their original card or pouch are priced above circulated ones.
T 10p mintage and rarity
With 304,000 struck for circulation, the T 10p (Tea) is the joint sixth rarest of the 30 ranked 10p designs and has the joint eighth lowest mintage of all 194 circulating UK designs. That puts it in the Very rare band, for mintages under 500,000.
The next rarer 10p is the Q 10p (Queuing), with 303,000 struck, and the next more common is the Capercaillie 10p, with 7,100,000 struck.
Its lowest circulation mintage was in 2019, with 84,000 struck.
| Year | Circulation mintage | Note |
|---|---|---|
| 2018 | 220,000 | Uncirculated version on sale from 1 March 2018. |
| 2019 | 84,000 | Same reverse with the 2019 date on the obverse; uncirculated version on sale from 26 February 2019. |
How to spot a T 10p
A traditional teapot on a chequered surface, with steam curling from its spout, stands to the right of a large T. The letter is the only lettering on that side, so the teapot is the giveaway. The heads side shows the fifth portrait of the Queen, with TEN PENCE and the date, 2018 or 2019, in the legend. The teapot design is the same for both years.
T 10p design
Tea is the T in The Royal Mint's Quintessentially British A to Z, the alphabet of 10p designs released for the Great British Coin Hunt in March 2018. For T, the series chose an everyday habit rather than a place: putting the kettle on for a pot of tea. The design shows a traditional round teapot standing on a chequered surface, with steam curling up from its spout, to the right of a tall capital T. It is credited to The Royal Mint Team. The Royal Mint has used two names for it, calling it Tea on the 2018 silver proof and T - Teapot on the 2019 uncirculated coin. There is nothing else on the tails side. The denomination and the date are carried on the obverse, in the legend around Jody Clark's portrait of Queen Elizabeth II. Circulation coins were struck with 2018 and 2019 dates, and uncirculated versions were sold in clear pouches and on Royal Mint cards, the cards also through selected Post Office branches.
It was one of the 26 coins in the A to Z set issued in 2018.
T 10p specifications
- Denomination
- 10p
- Years
- 2018 and 2019
- Type
- Commemorative
- Issue
- Issued for circulation
- Series
- A to Z
- Occasion
- The Royal Mint's Great British Coin Hunt, a Quintessentially British A to Z: tea
- Designer
- The Royal Mint Team
- Composition
- Nickel-plated steel
- Weight
- 6.5 g
- Diameter
- 24.5 mm
- Shape
- Round
- Edge
- Milled
- Obverse
- Elizabeth II, fifth portrait by Jody Clark
T 10p questions
Is the Teapot 10p the same coin as the Tea 10p?
Yes. The Royal Mint called the design Tea on its 2018 silver proof and T - Teapot on the 2019 uncirculated coin, but it is one reverse struck with two dates.
Is the T 10p rare?
By 10p standards, yes: every A to Z letter was struck in far smaller numbers than the everyday 10p designs. Within the series the T had the standard run, so it is easier to find than the 2019 W, Y and Z, and 2019 is the harder of its two dates.
Was the T 10p released into circulation?
Yes. Coins dated 2018 and 2019 were both issued into change, alongside uncirculated coins sold by The Royal Mint.