1 Penny - Victoria Pattern

The 1860 penny patterns were struck as Heaton's Birmingham Mint lobbied to take over copper coinage production from the Royal Mint, which was simultaneously transitioning the series to bronze. Several competing designs and compositions were submitted and struck in small numbers that year, making pattern survivorship erratic — some varieties are known from fewer than a handful of examples. This piece predates the final decision by weeks or months; the bronze penny that entered circulation in 1860 rendered all copper submissions obsolete before most were ever formally evaluated.