My 1st Cartwheel

George III probably didn't have much to do with the decision to issue the cartwheels. The main driving force behind them was always Matthew Boulton. He did it to demonstrate to the government that he could produce coins that were better looking, cheaper, and more resistant to forgery than what was in circulation at the time, and in this he was absolutely correct.
It was a personal matter of honour for Boulton to create this coinage, as well as a means of making money, because Birmingham was the centre of coin forgery that produced most of the dodgy coins in circulation in Britain, and Boulton wanted to regain some of Birmingham's honour by making it the centre of producing a much improved, honest base-metal coinage...

There's an interesting book written on the subject by an American chap called Dr Richard Doty; 'The Soho Mint and the Industrialization of Money'. I would highly recommend it to anyone who is interested...

 

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