W 10p: World Wide Web
The W 10p shows a large letter W set over a spider's web, standing for the World Wide Web in The Royal Mint's A to Z series. Its 2019 date shares the lowest circulation mintage of any 10p, which is why so many people check their W. It is one of the 26 A to Z 10p coins and one of the 31 10p designs struck since 1968.
W 10p value
- Circulated
- typical £3.70, range £2.80 to £6
- Uncirculated
- typical £3.80, range £3.10 to £6
Worked out from 17 published prices (6 price guides, 6 sold-price reports and 5 dealer prices), each condition from its own prices, checked in September 2026.
Rarity rank 1 of 30 ranked 10p designs, rarest first (joint)
Rarity: Very rareDate drives the value of the W 10p. The 2019 coin had one of the smallest circulation runs of any 10p and sells for clearly more than the 2018, which was made in the standard A to Z quantity. Condition still counts: a lightly worn coin with a crisp web outsells a scratched one, and uncirculated coins from Royal Mint pouches and cards sell above circulated ones.
W 10p mintage and rarity
With 283,000 struck for circulation, the W 10p (World Wide Web) is the joint rarest of the 30 ranked 10p designs and has the joint third lowest mintage of all 194 circulating UK designs. That puts it in the Very rare band, for mintages under 500,000.
No 10p design has a lower circulation mintage. The next more common is the R 10p (Robin), with 284,000 struck.
Its lowest circulation mintage was in 2019, with 63,000 struck.
| Year | Circulation mintage | Note |
|---|---|---|
| 2018 | 220,000 | Uncirculated version on sale from 1 March 2018. |
| 2019 | 63,000 | Same reverse with the 2019 date on the obverse; uncirculated version on sale from 26 February 2019. |
How to spot a W 10p
The spider's web is the clue: its threads spread across the tails side with a large W over them, and there is no other lettering. The value and the date are on the obverse, so turn the coin over to see whether it reads 2018 or 2019. The date matters more for the W than for most letters, because the 2019 coin is the scarce one and the reverse gives no hint of it.
W 10p design
W honours the World Wide Web, which the British scientist Tim Berners-Lee proposed in 1989 while working at CERN; he wrote the first web browser the following year. The Royal Mint Team turned the idea into a visual pun: instead of a computer or a screen, the coin shows a spider's web, its threads spreading across the whole field, with a large capital W set over the middle. The design is part of the Great British Coin Hunt, the Quintessentially British A to Z that put a different icon of British life on the 10p for each letter of the alphabet. The coin was released into circulation with 2018 and 2019 dates, and the reverse is identical on both; the year sits on the obverse after TEN PENCE, around Jody Clark's fifth portrait of the Queen. The 2019 issue is the one collectors look for: along with the 2019 Y and Z, it had the smallest circulation run of any 10p.
It was one of the 26 coins in the A to Z set issued in 2018.
W 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: the World Wide Web
- 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
W 10p questions
Is the W 10p rare?
Yes. The 2019 W shares the lowest circulation mintage of any 10p with the 2019 Y and Z. The 2018 W was struck in the standard quantity for the series, which makes it easier to find but still far scarcer than the everyday 10p designs.
What does the W on the 10p stand for?
The World Wide Web. The spider's web behind the letter is a play on the name.
How do I tell a 2019 W 10p from a 2018 one?
The web design is the same on both, so look at the heads side: the year follows TEN PENCE in the legend around the Queen's portrait.