i got this george the 3rd penny on friday an i am bery pleased with it. the only thing is that i had read that in the late 1700's the king stopped the mintage of coins so different countys started making their own. for example rochdale mafe thier own pennys of which i have one that dates to 1797. i may have gotten this very wrong so some info from some one more experienced would be much appricated.
Usually coins issued by cities and/or counties in Merry Olde England are not considered coins, but are tokens. However, a Copper is a Copper, and they did circulate as coinage in the county or shire... Clinker
This is a coin minted by Matthew Boulton's SoHo mint on contract from the King and his Treasury (to address a shortage of lower denomination coinage). This piece is known as a "cartwheel" due to the raised rims and its size. The rims were intended to reduce wear on Britannia and the King's profile. Unfortunately, while this was the first instance of using raised rims on coins (versus medals), the feature allowed dirt to collect (as well as within the incuse lettering). The design of this penny was created by Conrad Heinrich Kuchler, the SoHo chief medallist. His realistic likeness of George III is thought to be the King's preference who, "unlike his son, preferred accuracy to flattery." D.G. was used instead of "Dei Gratia" meaning "by the grace of God." So, George III, by the grace of God, King (Rex). Britannia is seated on a rock as a "goddess of the land" waving an olive branch (proffering peace) and holding a trident (representing dominion over the seas). She is facing a warship. The oval shield displays the crosses of St. Andrew and St. George. The above was paraphrased from George Selgin's "Good Money" - "Birmingham Button Makers, the Royal Mint, and the Beginnings of Modern Coinage, 1775-1821", pages 164-165, along with some of my own elementary translations.
thanks a lot everybody thats really helpfull. any ideas on how much its worth? i was really inpressed with some of the detail on it
Here is my 2-Penny example. The only way I can tell the difference between the 1d and the 2d is by the size. Does the term "Cartwheel" apply to both the 1-penny and the 2-Penny coins?
Both are called cartwheels, yes. They are very interesting pieces. Modern steam powered presses were used at the Soho Mint to create the deep and detailed designs. Their intrinsic value in copper was the same as their face value, as they were intended to drive out of circulation the many counterfeit and private pennies then current. Being made of pure copper, they were prone to damage and wear. Being so heavy, they were unpopular, and were only produced for two years, all dated 1797. Farthings of 1799 were produced at the Soho mint using the same equipment. They were a more successful issue, and were followed by issues of 1806 and 1807, which were lighter due to the increased value of copper.
During most of the 18th century coinage output from the Tower mint was very sporatic. While there was some silver and gold coinage (the nobility wanted to settle their debts in gold and silver) the production of copper coinage, which was what the common people used, was woefully inadequate. There was some production of farthings and half pence in the early 1700's, some 1749's and 1760's. Then in response to a "great outcry" they finally did a moderate coinage from 1770 to 1775. That was the last regal copper coinage until Boultons contract coinage of the penny and two pence cartwheels in 1797. The problem was that during this period the industrial revolution was really getting underway. Many people were leaving the farm and moving to the cities to work for wages. This created a problem. How to pay them. The typical laborer might be earning from one to three shillings a week (12 to 36 pence). The smallest paper note was a pound note (240 pence) and there was no where near enough coinage in circulation to pay them. Add to this the problem that by the mid 1780's over 90% of the coins that were in circulation were counterfeit. Often an employer would have to group several workers together and give them a pound note as the pay for all of them. Then it was their problem trying to find some way to get the note changed so they could each get paid. Typically the public houses (taverns) were the only places that might be able to make change, but not without them making a purchase. This often lead to the workers drinking up much of their pay before they got home. That is why the private or provincial coinage (Conder tokens) came about. If they couldn't get regal coinage, the merchants would have their own tokens made and use them for change and advertising. It was also profitable since it cost less than the face value of the tokens to have them made so you made a profit in passing them and even more profit if they did not come back for redemption. Eventually people realized that they could make and pass anonymous pieces and not have to worry about redeeming them since they didn't identify where they came from. The tokens were well liked since most of the trade token pieces were of full weight, well designed, and better struck than anything that had ever come out of the tower mint. In fact they were so well liked that prices were HIGHER if you wanted to pay with regal coinage. Finally Matthew Boulton got the regal contact to strike pennies and two pence coins in 1797. (This was the first British penny coin struck since the late 1600's and the first copper penny.) The coins at first were will liked, but eventually became a nuisance because of their weight, and because what were really needed in circulation were farthings and half pence. Also by 1799 the price of copper had risen to the point where the coins were undervalued and they disappeared from circulation. Boulton then struck farthings, half pence, and pennies at a lower weight standard. If you really want to understand what was going on at the time the book mentioned by Catbert is EXCELLENT and very enjoyable reading. Although it was written by an economist the writing style is NOT dry and it really pulls you in.
I would like to thank Clinker, Catbert, Texas John & Conder101 for their informative posts in this thread.
this is why i love this site and coin collecting in general. thank you very much for all of your information it is excelent and i am going to read as much as i can about it. my current goal is to try and get at least 1 coin from each monarch (i know this will be a huge undertaking)) collect89 that coin is beautiful, any chance of seeing the reverse?
