Y 10p: Yeoman Warder
The Y 10p shows one of the Tower of London's Yeoman Warders beside a large letter Y, with a key hanging from the letter. Often searched as the Beefeater 10p, its 2019 date is among the lowest-mintage 10p coins The Royal Mint has struck. It is one of the 26 A to Z 10p coins and one of the 31 10p designs struck since 1968.
Y 10p value
- Circulated
- typical £4, range £2.90 to £5
- Uncirculated
- typical £5, range £4 to £8
Worked out from 17 published prices (6 price guides, 6 dealer prices and 5 sold-price reports), each condition from its own prices, checked in September 2026.
Rarity rank 1 of 30 ranked 10p designs, rarest first (joint)
Rarity: Very rareCheck the date first. The 2019 Yeoman Warder 10p had one of the smallest circulation runs of any 10p, and it sells well above the 2018, which was struck in the normal A to Z quantity. After that, condition sets the price: a coin that keeps the detail of the warder's figure and the key sells for more than a worn one. Uncirculated coins still in their Royal Mint pouch or card bring more again, especially with the 2019 date.
Y 10p mintage and rarity
With 283,000 struck for circulation, the Y 10p (Yeoman Warder) 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 Y 10p
A warder in a Tudor bonnet, with a key hanging from a big letter Y, identifies this coin at a glance. Unlike most of the alphabet, the Y has a second piece of lettering on the tails side: the royal cypher E II R, below a crown on the warder's tunic. Check the obverse for the date: the scarce coin reads 2019 after TEN PENCE, while the 2018 was struck in far larger numbers. The reverse does not change between the two.
Y 10p design
Y goes to the Yeoman Warders, who guard the Tower of London and are better known to most people as Beefeaters. The body traces its origins to Henry VII in the Tudor period, and its duties have included watching over prisoners held in the Tower and guarding the Crown Jewels kept there. The Royal Mint Team's design shows a warder on the right, in his Tudor bonnet and tunic, with a crown and the royal cypher E II R on his chest. His hand grips a lantern at the bottom of the coin, and a large key hangs on a chain from the left arm of a tall capital Y. It is the Y in the Great British Coin Hunt, the Quintessentially British A to Z of 10p coins. The Y was struck for circulation in 2018 and 2019, with the date on the obverse next to TEN PENCE and Jody Clark's portrait. Along with the 2019 W and Z, the 2019 Y had the smallest circulation run of any 10p.
It was one of the 26 coins in the A to Z set issued in 2018.
Y 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 Yeoman Warders of the Tower of London
- 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
Y 10p questions
Is the Beefeater 10p the same as the Yeoman Warder 10p?
Yes. Yeoman Warders are widely known as Beefeaters, and the Y coin of the A to Z series shows one of them with a key.
Is the Y 10p rare?
The 2019 date is. It sits with the 2019 W and Z at the very bottom of The Royal Mint's 10p mintage records, while the 2018 Y was made in far larger numbers and turns up much more often.
What is written on the Y 10p?
The tails side carries the letter Y and the royal cypher E II R, which sits below a crown on the warder's tunic. TEN PENCE and the date are on the heads side, around the Queen's portrait.