BBC has an article explaining the tradition, dating back to the 13th century, of giving out Maundy Money. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/suffolk/7991228.stm
To go along with the theme, here is a maundy 2 pence of George IV This is a Maundy coin depicting King George IV of England. The word 'Maundy' comes from the Latin word for commandment (mandatum). This is a coin minted specifically for the religious ceremony Maundy Thursday performed by members of the Anglican church on the Thursday before Easter. Maundy Thursday is a ceremony celebrated by many Christians in Great Britain though similar ceremonies are conducted all over the world under various different names. The Maundy ceremony commemorates the Last Supper and has its origin in the commandment Christ gave after washing the feet of his disciples on the day before Good Friday "A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you" John (13:34) In the United Kingdom these ceremonies have included the reigning Monarch offering "alms" to deserving poor and senior citizens. This practice seems to have started as early as the thirteenth century when members of the royal family took part in Maundy ceremonies by distributing money and gifts, and to emulate Christ's act of humility by washing the feet of the poor. King Edward II is the first monarch to have been recorded actively taking part in the ceremony, although its origins are probably quite a bit earlier as King John is said to have taken part in a ceremony in about 1210 donating small silver coins to the poor. King Edward III washed feet and gave gifts including money to the poor though the act of washing the feet was eventually discontinued, the last Monarch to do so was James II. The minting and issuance of Maundy money started in the reign of Charles II with an undated issue of hammered coins in 1662. The coins were a four penny, three penny, two penny and one penny piece but it was not until 1670 that a dated set of all four coins appeared. Prior to this, ordinary coinage was used for Maundy gifts. In modern Maundy ceremonies money alone is given instead of other gifts of food and clothing. Today the sovereign hands to each recipient one red purse and one white purse. The red containing ordinary coinage in lieu of food and clothing; The white containing silver Maundy coins consisting of the same number of pence as the years of the sovereign's age, a practice which began with King Henry IV. Although Maundy money is minted in Sterling (0.925) silver all Maundy money remains legal tender in Britain.
The best way to find maundy coins are in junk boxes. 3d maundy coins are exactly the same as the regular circulation coins until around the 192Os. Modern maundy coins are very expensive.
Thank you for posting that link. Does anybody collect maundy sets here? Im a new forum member and maundy set collector, I was hoping to find more buying oppertunities for sets other then ebay and google searches- Thank you!- Neil
http://www.vcoins.com often has maundy money http://www.maundy.co.uk/ always has maundy money and set for sale.
