The Official Weight of a 5p Coin and What It Means for You
Posted by: Ian • 14 Dec 2025
Ever wondered how much a 5p coin actually weighs? You might be surprised to learn that every single modern 5p coin is minted to a precise weight of 3.25 grams.
It might sound like a bit of trivia, but for us, that exact measurement is the secret sauce behind our fast, easy, and hassle-free currency exchange service. It allows our sorting machines to work their magic with incredible accuracy.
What Makes a 5p Coin a 5p Coin?
When you have thousands upon thousands of mixed coins to sort, doing it by hand would take forever. Knowing the exact weight of a 5p coin lets our high-tech systems instantly identify and value them in massive, unsorted batches. This is how we provide a 100% guaranteed service without you having to lift a finger to sort anything.
It’s this kind of precision that has earned us the trust of major UK brands, including charities, supermarkets, airports, and even police forces. They count on us to process large volumes of currency efficiently and reliably.
So, what are the official specs? The Royal Mint has a very strict blueprint for every coin they produce.
Current UK 5p Coin Specifications
This table lays out the official details for the smaller 5p coin you'll find in your pocket today, which has been the standard since 1990.
| Specification | Measurement |
|---|---|
| Diameter | 18.00 mm |
| Weight | 3.25 g |
| Thickness | 1.70 mm |
| Composition | Nickel-plated steel |
As you can see, every dimension is meticulously controlled. This consistency is what makes our weight-based valuation so dependable, ensuring you get a fair and accurate return every time.
Of course, this is just one piece of the puzzle. Coin specifications vary wildly, which you can see in our other guides, like the one exploring how much a two-pound coin weighs.
Ultimately, our professional process means that whether you have a small jar of leftover foreign currency or a huge collection of old coins, you'll always get a fast, fair, and transparent valuation.
Ready to turn those old coins into cash? Start your exchange today.
The History Behind the 5p Coin's Weight Change
Ever picked up a 5p coin and thought it felt surprisingly heavy for its size? You weren’t imagining things. The humble five pence piece actually has two different weights, a little quirk of history that explains why some feel so much heftier than others.
The story starts with the original, larger 5p coin that first appeared back in 1968. This version was a direct replacement for the old shilling and was minted to the exact same size and weight. These were chunky coins, tipping the scales at a substantial 5.65 grams each. You'll still find plenty of them tucked away in old coin jars and forgotten collections. If you think you might have some, you can check our guide to see if you're holding any valuable pre-decimal coins.
The Shift to a Lighter Coin
So, why the change? It all came down to practicality. By 1990, the rising cost of metal, combined with the growing popularity of vending machines, made the big, heavy 5p a bit of a nuisance.
The solution was to introduce a new, smaller version. On 27th June 1990, the modern 5p we know today was released. It weighs just 3.25 grams, a massive 42.5% lighter than its predecessor. This single change saved the Treasury millions each year in material costs and gave us a coin far better suited for modern life.
This timeline shows the key differences between the old and new 5p coins at a glance.
As you can see, it wasn't just the weight that changed. The 1990 redesign saw the coin's diameter and thickness shrink significantly too.
The fact that there are two different 5p coins in circulation is a perfect example of why trying to sort and value mixed currency yourself can be such a headache. Our service is designed to remove that problem completely.
This bit of history is exactly why our service is so useful. We’re trusted by major UK organisations, from national charities and airports to police forces, because our process is fast, easy, and 100% guaranteed. You don’t need to sort your coins—just send them to us, and we’ll handle everything, ensuring both old and new currency is valued accurately.
Why the Coin's Material Changed But Not Its Weight
The story of the 5p coin’s weight gets even more interesting long after the big 1990 redesign. As the global prices for metals like copper and nickel began to climb, the Royal Mint faced a problem: the coins were becoming too expensive to make. Their solution was a genuinely impressive bit of engineering.
In 2012, they made a major change, switching the coin's composition to a much cheaper nickel-plated steel. But here was the tricky part. They had to swap the materials without changing the coin’s crucial 3.25-gram weight. This was absolutely essential, as every vending machine, coin counter, and banking machine in the country was calibrated to that exact weight.
So, how on earth did they pull it off?
A Masterclass in Minting Precision
To solve this puzzle, the Royal Mint had to completely re-engineer the coin. Steel isn't as dense as the old cupro-nickel alloy, so if they'd kept the dimensions the same, the new coin would have been far too light. The answer was to make the new steel version just a fraction thicker.
This tiny adjustment increased the coin’s thickness from 1.7 mm to around 1.89 mm. It’s a change you’d barely notice by eye, but it was perfectly calculated to keep the weight at that all-important 3.25 grams. You can find out more about this clever manufacturing process over on the Royal Mint's official website.
This attention to detail really highlights just how complex sorting mixed currency can be. You’ve got different materials, thicknesses, and weights all in the mix, which is why a professional service is the only way to guarantee you’re getting an accurate count.
This is exactly why our service is trusted by some of the biggest names out there, from national charities and supermarkets to airports and even police forces. We make the process to exchange foreign coins and notes fast, simple, and completely hassle-free.
You don’t need to worry about sorting through different types of coins or checking their composition. Our 100% guaranteed service handles all of that for you, whether you want to convert foreign coins and banknotes into cash or donate foreign coins to charity. To get started, just visit our homepage and turn your leftover currency into real value today.
How to Weigh Your Own Coins at Home
Fancy giving it a go yourself? Weighing your coins at home is a great little experiment to see just how much precision matters. It won’t be as spot-on as our industrial setup, of course, but it’s a brilliant way to grasp the basics of how we sort by weight. All you need is a decent digital scale and a handful of coins to get started.
To get a half-decent reading, you'll want to use a digital kitchen or jewellery scale – something that measures in grams. Pop it on a totally flat, sturdy surface and, most importantly, zero it out before you begin. Just weighing a single 5p coin might give you a slightly wonky number, as normal household scales can wobble a bit in their readings.
A Simple Guide to Better Accuracy
For a much more reliable result, just follow these simple steps. This little trick helps to smooth out any tiny differences between individual coins or minor blips from your scale.
- Gather a Batch: Grab at least ten identical 5p coins. Double-check they are all the modern, smaller size.
- Weigh Together: Place all ten coins on the scale at the same time and jot down the total weight.
- Calculate the Average: Divide that total weight by ten. The number you get will be a far more accurate average weight for a single coin.
This hands-on activity quickly shows you how tedious and time-consuming precise counting can be, especially when you've got a big pile of leftover foreign currency. It really brings home the value of a professional, no-fuss service.
While it’s a fun project, this is exactly where our service comes in. We use highly calibrated, industrial machines to give you a 100% guaranteed accurate count, every single time. As a trusted partner for major brands like supermarkets, airports, and even police forces, our entire process is built on rock-solid reliability.
There’s no need to sort through shrapnel or mess about with scales. Let us do the hard work. Our service is the fastest and easiest way to exchange foreign coins, turning that forgotten collection into real money. To get started, just visit our homepage and see for yourself how simple it is.
Turn Your Leftover Coins into Real Value
All this talk about the exact weight of a 5p coin is interesting, but it really boils down to one practical goal: turning that forgotten pile of shrapnel into something useful. While understanding coin weights is how we value currency in bulk, our fast and hassle-free exchange service is the real solution for you. Forget the scales and the sorting; we make it effortless.
The process honestly couldn't be simpler. Just gather up all your leftover currency—coins and notes, from any country, in any condition—pack it all together, and send it our way. There's absolutely no need to sort anything. We do all the hard work, processing everything with 100% guaranteed accuracy before sending your payment.
A Service Built on Trust
There's a reason we're trusted by some of the biggest organisations in the UK. We're the chosen currency exchange partner for leading charities, national supermarkets, airports, and even police forces across the country. They rely on our secure, professional, and completely transparent system to handle their currency needs efficiently.
That same trusted service is available to you, whether you want to finally cash in that jar of holiday money or explore our options for coin conversion to cash.
Our mission is to provide the most straightforward way to exchange foreign coins and notes. We believe that leftover money shouldn't be a hassle—it should be an opportunity.
You can also use our platform to donate foreign coins to charity, turning small, forgotten amounts into a meaningful contribution for a cause you care about. We’ve designed our service from the ground up to be the easiest way to convert your currency clutter into cash or a charitable donation.
Ready to see how simple it is? Visit our homepage to get started and unlock the value in your leftover currency today.
Common Questions About 5p Coins and Currency Exchange
We get asked a lot of questions about exchanging old currency, especially when it comes to big, mixed bags of coins like the 5p. To make things clear, we've answered some of the most common ones below, showing how our fast, easy, and hassle-free service is built to help you.
It's a process built on trust and simplicity, which is why we’re the go-to service for major brands, including national charities, supermarkets, airports, and even police forces.
What Types of Currency Do You Accept?
This is a great question, and the answer is simple: just about everything! We accept foreign coins and notes, whether they’re still in circulation, obsolete, or even pre-decimal. You really don’t have to worry about sorting a thing.
This includes:
- Leftover foreign currency from your holidays.
- Old British and Irish money, including those larger, heavier 5p coins.
- Pre-euro currencies like Francs, Pesetas, or Deutsche Marks.
Our 100% guaranteed service is designed to handle it all. You can send us your entire collection without a second thought.
Do I Need to Sort My Coins Before Sending Them?
Absolutely not. In fact, that’s the whole point of our hassle-free promise. The different weights and compositions of coins like the 5p are exactly why our service exists in the first place. Trying to sort currency by hand is a tedious job, and it's easy to make mistakes.
We use advanced, high-speed sorting technology to identify and value every single coin and note for you. Just pack everything together, and we’ll take care of the rest.
Can I Donate My Leftover Currency to Charity?
Yes, of course! Many of our customers choose to donate foreign coins to charity right through our platform. It’s a wonderfully simple way to turn small amounts of leftover change into a valuable contribution for a good cause. We partner with numerous UK charities, making the process completely seamless.
Our goal is to make it easy to convert foreign coins and banknotes into something meaningful, whether that's cash in your pocket or a donation to a cause you believe in. We provide a trusted, professional way to unlock the value hidden in your old currency.
Ready to turn your forgotten currency into cash or a charitable donation? At We Buy All Currency, our process is fast, easy, and 100% guaranteed. Visit our homepage to get started today!