1.
Halfpenny (British decimal coin)
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The British decimal halfpenny coin was introduced in February 1971, at the time of decimalisation, and was worth one two-hundredth of a pound sterling. It was ignored in banking transactions, which were carried out in units of 1p, the decimal halfpenny had the same value as 1.2 pre-decimal pence, and was introduced to enable the prices of some low-value items to be more accurately translated to the new decimal currency. The possibility of setting prices including an odd half penny also made it practical to retain the pre-decimal sixpence in circulation alongside the new decimal coinage. The halfpenny coins obverse featured the profile of Queen Elizabeth II and it was the smallest decimal coin in both size and value. The size was in proportion to the 1p and 2p coins and it soon became Britains least favourite coin. The reverse of the coin, designed by Christopher Ironside, was a representation of St Edwards Crown, with the numeral ½ below the crown, only one design of obverse was used on the halfpenny coin. The inscription around the portrait on the obverse was ELIZABETH II D. G. REG. F. D, 19xx, where 19xx was the year of minting. Both sides of the coin are encircled by dots, a feature on coins. Annual number of released into general circulation A decimal quarter-penny coin was also proposed. Halfpenny British Halfpenny pictures Coins of the UK - Decimal Bronze Coins CoinWiki - Decimal Half Pennies
2.
History of the halfpenny
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The British halfpenny coin was worth 1/480th of a pound sterling. At first in its 700-year history it was made from silver but as the value of silver increased and it was finally abandoned in 1969 as part of the process of decimalising the British currency. Halfpenny, colloquially written hapenny, was pronounced /ˈheɪpəni/ HAY-pə-nee,1 ½d was spoken as a penny hapenny /əˈpɛniˈheɪpni/ or three hapence /θriːˈheɪpəns/, no documentary evidence of these coins is known to exist, and it is possible that there are other coins or issues still to be discovered. A few King Henry I silver halfpennies have been discovered recently, the issue is possibly a pattern or trial, but it is obvious that several specimens entered circulation. Two issues, both struck at the London mint, have been discovered recently, both are in the short-cross style of King Henry III, produced between 1216 and 1247, and are similar in design to the pennies, but only half the size. King Edward I successfully introduced the halfpenny as part of his new coinage, as with all coins of this period, the denomination was not written on the coin, which was worth its weight in silver, thus a halfpenny was half the size and weight of a penny. The fact that Kings Edward II, III, and IV also issued halfpennies makes it difficult to distinguish between them – in general, Edward Is coins are larger than his successors. As with other denominations, by far the majority of coins were produced at the London mint, in the Tower of London, but five other mints were active in Edward Is reign. The kings name appears in the inscription, usually EDW, EDWA, or EDWR R ANGL DNS HYB, or RICARD or HENRI respectively for the issues of Kings Richard II. During the reign of King Edward II, halfpennies were produced at the mints in London and Berwick. Three mints were actively producing halfpennies in the reign of King Edward III, 1327–1377, at London, Berwick, King Richard II produced all his halfpennies at the London mint. The obverse legend reads RICHARD REX ANGL – Richard King of England – around a front-facing bust of the king, the halfpennies of King Henry IV are difficult to identify, mainly because they have been heavily clipped or worn. The obverse legend reads HENRIC REX ANGL around a front-facing bust of the king, in 1412 the weight of the halfpenny was reduced from 4.5 grains to 3.75 grains, although coins were produced from the same dies as before. The halfpennies of King Henry V are an easier to identify. In the first reign of King Henry VI, halfpennies were produced at London and Calais. The designs are continuations of those of the earlier Henries, with the obverse legend HENRIC REX ANGL, the obverse inscription reads EDWARD DI GRA REX. During the short reign of Henry VI, halfpennies were produced at London. The obverse inscription was changed to read HENRIC DI GRA REX, halfpennies of the second reign of Edward IV are much like those of the first reign but they were also produced at Durham
3.
Pound sterling
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It is subdivided into 100 pence. A number of nations that do not use sterling also have called the pound. At various times, the sterling was commodity money or bank notes backed by silver or gold. The pound sterling is the worlds oldest currency still in use, the British Crown dependencies of Guernsey and Jersey produce their own local issues of sterling, the Guernsey pound and the Jersey pound. The pound sterling is also used in the Isle of Man, Gibraltar, the Bank of England is the central bank for the pound sterling, issuing its own coins and banknotes, and regulating issuance of banknotes by private banks in Scotland and Northern Ireland. Sterling is the fourth most-traded currency in the exchange market, after the United States dollar, the euro. Together with those three currencies it forms the basket of currencies which calculate the value of IMF special drawing rights, Sterling is also the third most-held reserve currency in global reserves. The full, official name, pound sterling, is used mainly in formal contexts, otherwise the term pound is normally used. The abbreviations ster. or stg. are sometimes used, the term British pound is commonly used in less formal contexts, although it is not an official name of the currency. The pound sterling is also referred to as cable amongst forex traders, the origins of this term are attributed to the fact that in the 1800s, the dollar/pound sterling exchange rate was transmitted via transatlantic cable. Forex brokers are sometimes referred to as cable dealers, as another established source notes, the compound expression was then derived, silver coins known as sterlings were issued in the Saxon kingdoms,240 of them being minted from a pound of silver. Hence, large payments came to be reckoned in pounds of sterlings, in 1260, Henry III granted them a charter of protection. And because the Leagues money was not frequently debased like that of England, English traders stipulated to be paid in pounds of the Easterlings, and land for their Kontor, the Steelyard of London, which by the 1340s was also called Easterlings Hall, or Esterlingeshalle. For further discussion of the etymology of sterling, see sterling silver, the currency sign for the pound sign is £, which is usually written with a single cross-bar, though a version with a double cross-bar is also sometimes seen. The ISO4217 currency code is GBP, occasionally, the abbreviation UKP is used but this is non-standard because the ISO3166 country code for the United Kingdom is GB. The Crown dependencies use their own codes, GGP, JEP, stocks are often traded in pence, so traders may refer to pence sterling, GBX, when listing stock prices. A common slang term for the pound sterling or pound is quid, since decimalisation in 1971, the pound has been divided into 100 pence. The symbol for the penny is p, hence an amount such as 50p properly pronounced fifty pence is more colloquially, quite often, pronounced fifty pee /fɪfti, pi and this also helped to distinguish between new and old pence amounts during the changeover to the decimal system
4.
Elizabeth II
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Elizabeth II has been Queen of the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand since 6 February 1952. Elizabeth was born in London as the eldest child of the Duke and Duchess of York, later King George VI and Queen Elizabeth and her father acceded to the throne on the abdication of his brother Edward VIII in 1936, from which time she was the heir presumptive. She began to undertake duties during the Second World War. Elizabeths many historic visits and meetings include a visit to the Republic of Ireland. She has seen major changes, such as devolution in the United Kingdom, Canadian patriation. She has reigned through various wars and conflicts involving many of her realms and she is the worlds oldest reigning monarch as well as Britains longest-lived. In October 2016, she became the longest currently reigning monarch, in 2017 she became the first British monarch to commemorate a Sapphire Jubilee. Elizabeth has occasionally faced republican sentiments and press criticism of the family, however, support for the monarchy remains high. Elizabeth was born at 02,40 on 21 April 1926, during the reign of her paternal grandfather and her father, Prince Albert, Duke of York, was the second son of the King. Her mother, Elizabeth, Duchess of York, was the youngest daughter of Scottish aristocrat Claude Bowes-Lyon, 14th Earl of Strathmore and she was delivered by Caesarean section at her maternal grandfathers London house,17 Bruton Street, Mayfair. Elizabeths only sibling, Princess Margaret, was born in 1930, the two princesses were educated at home under the supervision of their mother and their governess, Marion Crawford, who was casually known as Crawfie. Lessons concentrated on history, language, literature and music, Crawford published a biography of Elizabeth and Margarets childhood years entitled The Little Princesses in 1950, much to the dismay of the royal family. The book describes Elizabeths love of horses and dogs, her orderliness, others echoed such observations, Winston Churchill described Elizabeth when she was two as a character. She has an air of authority and reflectiveness astonishing in an infant and her cousin Margaret Rhodes described her as a jolly little girl, but fundamentally sensible and well-behaved. During her grandfathers reign, Elizabeth was third in the line of succession to the throne, behind her uncle Edward, Prince of Wales, and her father, the Duke of York. Although her birth generated public interest, she was not expected to become queen, many people believed that he would marry and have children of his own. When her grandfather died in 1936 and her uncle succeeded as Edward VIII, she became second-in-line to the throne, later that year, Edward abdicated, after his proposed marriage to divorced socialite Wallis Simpson provoked a constitutional crisis. Consequently, Elizabeths father became king, and she became heir presumptive, if her parents had had a later son, she would have lost her position as first-in-line, as her brother would have been heir apparent and above her in the line of succession
5.
Mary Gillick
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Mary Gillick was a sculptor best known for her effigy of Elizabeth II used on coinage in the United Kingdom and elsewhere from 1953 to 1970. Born Mary Tutin in Nottingham, she was educated at the Nottingham School of Art, after making her first exhibition at the Royal Academy in 1911, she designed several medals to be used as awards, and several other, larger relief sculptures in stone and bronze. In 1952, Gillicks effigy design was selected from a field of seventeen to be used on general-circulation coinage for the new Queen Elizabeth, Gillicks design was notable for portraying the Queen uncrowned, and was the last to be used on the pre-decimal coinage. It is still used for Maundy money and various commemorative issues, Gillicks die master had insufficient relief, and the striking was too weak. Facial features and the folds in the shoulder disappeared. The problem was solved by re-cutting the dies, a cameo of Gillicks effigy of the Queen has been used on British commemorative stamps since 1966. She was married to another sculptor, Ernest Gillick, who is believed to have influenced her work
6.
Golden Hind
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Golden Hind was an English galleon best known for her privateering circumnavigation of the globe between 1577 and 1580, captained by Sir Francis Drake. She was originally known as Pelican, but was renamed by Drake mid-voyage in 1578, in honour of his patron, Sir Christopher Hatton, Hatton was one of the principal sponsors of Drakes world voyage. The queens support was advantageous, Drake had official approval to benefit himself and this would eventually culminate in the Anglo–Spanish War. Before setting sail, Drake met the queen face-to-face for the first time and she said to him, the explicit object was to find out places meet to have traffic. Drake, however, acted as a privateer, with support from Queen Elizabeth. Drake commissioned his flagship in Plymouth, the keel was registered in 1575. The majority of the work was done in 1576, and it was completed early the next year and it is described as a mid 16th century warship during the transition from the carrack to the galleon, and displaced about 100 tons. He first named his flagship the Pelican, but renamed it the Golden Hind on 20 August 1578 to honor his patron, Sir Christopher Hatton and he set sail in December 1577 with five small ships, manned by 164 men, and reached the Brazilian coast in early 1578. On 1 March 1579, now in the Pacific Ocean, off the coast of Ecuador and this galleon had the largest treasure captured to that date, over 360,000 pesos. The six tons of treasure took six days to transship and included 26 tons of silver, half a ton of gold, porcelain, jewellery, coins, there she shrewdly asked the French ambassador to bestow a knighthood on Drake. Her share of the came to at least £160,000, enough to pay off her entire government debt. Her return and that of other investors came to more than £47 for every £1 invested, after Drakes circumnavigation, the Golden Hind was maintained for public exhibition at the dockyard at Deptford, London. The ship remained there from 1580 to approximately 1650 before she eventually rotted away and was broken up. A table, known as the cupboard, in the Middle Temple Hall is also reputed to have made from the wood of Golden Hind. Upon the cupboard is placed the roll of members of Middle Temple, the ships lantern was hung in the vestibule of Middle Temple Hall but was destroyed during the Second World War. A replica of Golden Hind was constructed at Peter Pans Playground, Southend-on-Sea and it was constructed from 1947 and opened in 1949 together with a waxworks. It was popular at first, but by 1992 attendances had dropped, the ship was replaced by a replica of Blackbeards Queen Annes Revenge. This ship was demolished in 2013, the replica ship used in the TV series cost £25,000 to construct and had no rear gallery
7.
Britannia
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It is a term still used to refer to the island today. In AD43 the Roman Empire began its conquest of the island, establishing a province they called Britannia, in the 2nd century, Roman Britannia came to be personified as a goddess, armed with a trident and shield and wearing a Corinthian helmet. After centuries of declining use, the Latin form was revived during the English Renaissance as an evocation of a British national identity. A British cultural icon, she was featured on all modern British coinage series until the redesign in 2008, in 2015 a new definitive £2 coin was issued, with a new image of Britannia. She is also depicted in the Brit Awards statuette, the British Phonographic Industrys annual music awards, the first writer to use a form of the name was the Greek explorer and geographer Pytheas in the 4th century BC. Pytheas referred to Prettanike or Brettaniai, a group of islands off the coast of North-Western Europe, in the 1st century BC, Diodorus Siculus referred to Pretannia, a rendering of the indigenous name for the Pretani people whom the Greeks believed to inhabit the British Isles. Following the Greek usage, the Romans referred to the Insulae Britannicae in the plural, consisting of Albion, Hibernia, Thule, over time, Albion specifically came to be known as Britannia, and the name for the group was subsequently dropped. The Roman conquest of the began in AD43, leading to the establishment of the Roman province known in Latin as Britannia. A southern part of what is now Scotland was occupied by the Romans for about 20 years in the mid-2nd century AD, people living in the Roman province of Britannia were called Britanni, or Britons. Ireland, inhabited by the Scoti, was never invaded and was called Hibernia, Thule, an island six days sail north of Britain, and near the frozen sea, possibly Iceland, was also never invaded by the Romans. She appeared on coins issued under Hadrian, as a more regal-looking female figure, Britannia was soon personified as a goddess, looking fairly similar to the goddess Minerva. Early portraits of the goddess depict Britannia as a young woman, wearing the helmet of a centurion. She is usually seated on a rock, holding a spear. Sometimes she holds a standard and leans on the shield, on another range of coinage, she is seated on a globe above waves, Britain at the edge of the world. Similar coin types were issued under Antoninus Pius. After the Roman withdrawal, the term Britannia remained in use in Britain, Latin was ubiquitous amongst native Brythonic writers and the term continued in the Welsh tradition that developed from it. Following the migration of Brythonic Celts, The term Britannia also came to refer to the Armorican peninsula. )The modern English, French, Breton and Gallo names for the area, all derive from a literal use of Britannia meaning land of the Britons. The two Britannias gave rise to the term Grande Bretagne to distinguish the island of Britain from the continental peninsula
8.
Humphrey Paget
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Thomas Humphrey Paget OBE was an English medal and coin designer and modeller. Pagets designs are indicated by the initials HP, Paget was first approached by the Royal Mint in 1936 after the accession of King Edward VIII. Pagets recommendation had come via his earlier design for the obverse of a medal featuring the then-Prince of Wales. After some controversy regarding the direction the monarch was to face on the coinage, however Edwards abdication meant that, apart from a few trial dies, Pagets designs never reached the minting stage. A measure of the success of the Edward portrait can be seen in the fact that Paget alone was commissioned to design George VIs effigy in 1937 and he is the only artist to have a second obverse design approved for use in sterling coinage in the 20th century. The portrait of George VI has since described as the classic coinage head of the 20th century. He was awarded the O. B. E. in the Kings Birthday Honours of 1948 and his O. B. E. was gazetted in the Supplement to The London Gazette, Number 38311, Page 3377, published on 4 June 1948. Pagets later work included an effigy of King Faisal II of Iraq in 1955 and he also produced an effigy of Queen Elizabeth II for a commemorative Isle of Man issue in 1965. 1951 Australian 2 Shilling piece struck with Pagets initials at the Museum of Victoria History of Paget and his work at the Royal Mint Museum Thomas Humphrey Paget in, World of coins
9.
United Kingdom
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The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom or Britain, is a sovereign country in western Europe. Lying off the north-western coast of the European mainland, the United Kingdom includes the island of Great Britain, Northern Ireland is the only part of the United Kingdom that shares a land border with another sovereign state—the Republic of Ireland. The Irish Sea lies between Great Britain and Ireland, with an area of 242,500 square kilometres, the United Kingdom is the 78th-largest sovereign state in the world and the 11th-largest in Europe. It is also the 21st-most populous country, with an estimated 65.1 million inhabitants, together, this makes it the fourth-most densely populated country in the European Union. The United Kingdom is a monarchy with a parliamentary system of governance. The monarch is Queen Elizabeth II, who has reigned since 6 February 1952, other major urban areas in the United Kingdom include the regions of Birmingham, Leeds, Glasgow, Liverpool and Manchester. The United Kingdom consists of four countries—England, Scotland, Wales, the last three have devolved administrations, each with varying powers, based in their capitals, Edinburgh, Cardiff and Belfast, respectively. The relationships among the countries of the UK have changed over time, Wales was annexed by the Kingdom of England under the Laws in Wales Acts 1535 and 1542. A treaty between England and Scotland resulted in 1707 in a unified Kingdom of Great Britain, which merged in 1801 with the Kingdom of Ireland to form the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. Five-sixths of Ireland seceded from the UK in 1922, leaving the present formulation of the United Kingdom of Great Britain, there are fourteen British Overseas Territories. These are the remnants of the British Empire which, at its height in the 1920s, British influence can be observed in the language, culture and legal systems of many of its former colonies. The United Kingdom is a country and has the worlds fifth-largest economy by nominal GDP. The UK is considered to have an economy and is categorised as very high in the Human Development Index. It was the worlds first industrialised country and the worlds foremost power during the 19th, the UK remains a great power with considerable economic, cultural, military, scientific and political influence internationally. It is a nuclear weapons state and its military expenditure ranks fourth or fifth in the world. The UK has been a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council since its first session in 1946 and it has been a leading member state of the EU and its predecessor, the European Economic Community, since 1973. However, on 23 June 2016, a referendum on the UKs membership of the EU resulted in a decision to leave. The Acts of Union 1800 united the Kingdom of Great Britain, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have devolved self-government
10.
Decimal Day
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On 15 February 1971, known as Decimal Day, the United Kingdom and Ireland decimalised their currencies. Under the old currency of pounds, shillings and pence, the pound was made up of 240 pence, the United Kingdoms Parliament rejected Sir John Wrottesleys proposals to decimalise sterling in 1824, which was prompted by the introduction in 1795 of the decimal French franc. After this defeat, little progress towards decimalisation was made for over a century. A double florin or four-shilling piece was a step in that direction. It was as a result of the growing interest in decimalisation that the florin was issued, in their preliminary report, the Royal Commission on Decimal Coinage considered the benefits and problems of decimalisation but did not draw any conclusion about the adoption of any such scheme. A final report in 1859 from the two remaining commissioners, Lord Overstone and Governor of the Bank of England John Hubbard came out against the idea, claiming it had few merits. In 1862, the Select Committee on Weights and Measures favoured the introduction of decimalisation to accompany the introduction of metric weights, the decimalisation movement even entered fiction. In Anthony Trollopes Palliser novels, Plantagenet Palliser is an advocate of decimalisation. Pallisers scheme would have divided the shilling into ten pennies and this would have changed the threepence into 2.5 new pence, the sixpence into fivepence and the half crown into a two shilling, five pence piece. It would also have required the withdrawal and reissuance of the copper coinage. The Royal Commission on Decimal Coinage, chaired by Lord Emmott, reported in 1920 that the only feasible scheme was to divide the pound into 1000 mills, a minority of four members disagreed, saying that the disruption would be worthwhile. A further three members recommended that the pound should be replaced by the Royal, consisting of 100 halfpennies, the adoption of the changes suggested in the report was announced on 1 March 1966. The Decimal Currency Board was created to manage the transition, although the plans were not approved by Parliament until the Decimal Currency Act in May 1969, former Greater London Council leader Bill Fiske was named as the Chairman of the Decimal Currency Board. Consideration was given to introducing a new unit of currency worth ten shillings in the old currency, suggested names included the new pound, the royal. This would have resulted in the decimal penny being worth slightly more than the old penny. But Halsbury decided, in view of the pound sterlings importance as a reserve currency, under the new system, the pound was retained but was divided into 100 new pence, denoted by the symbol p. New coinage was issued alongside the old coins, the 5p and 10p coins were introduced in April 1968 and were the same size, composition, and value as the shilling and two shillings coins in circulation with them. In October 1969 the 50p coin was introduced, with the 10s note withdrawn on 20 November 1970 and this reduced the number of new coins that had to be introduced on Decimal Day and meant that the public was already familiar with three of the six new coins
11.
Denarius
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In the Roman currency system, the dēnārius, plural, dēnāriī was a small silver coin first minted about 211 BC during the Second Punic War. It is the origin of modern words such as the currency name dinar, it is also the origin for the common noun for money in Italian denaro, in Portuguese dinheiro. Its symbol is X̶, a x with stroke. A predecessor of the denarius was first struck in 267 BC, five years before the first Punic War with a weight of 6.81 grams. Contact with the Greeks prompted a need for coinage in addition to the bronze currency that the Romans were using during that time. The predecessor of the denarius was a Greek-styled silver coin, very similar to the didrachm and drachma struck in Metapontion and these coins were inscribed for Rome but closely resemble their Greek counterparts. They were most likely used for purposes and were seldom used in Rome. The first distinctively Roman silver coin appeared around 226 BC, Rome overhauled its coinage around 211 BC and introduced the denarius alongside a short-lived denomination called the victoriatus. This denarius contained an average 4.5 grams, or 1⁄72 of a Roman pound of silver and it formed the backbone of Roman currency throughout the Roman republic. The denarius began to undergo slow debasement toward the end of the republican period, under the rule of Augustus, its silver content fell to 3.9 grams. It remained at nearly this weight until the time of Nero, debasement of the coins silver content continued after Nero. Later Roman emperors reduced its content to 3 grams around the third century. The value at its introduction was 10 asses, giving the denarius its name, in about 141 BC, it was re-tariffed at 16 asses, to reflect the decrease in weight of the as. The denarius continued to be the coin of the Roman Empire until it was replaced by the antoninianus in the middle of the third century. The last issuance of this occurred in bronze form by Aurelian. For more details, see Denarius, in A Dictionary of Ancient Roman Coins, the denarius has a link from the Roman times to the British penny and US1 cent piece. It is difficult to give even rough comparative values for money from before the 20th century, as the range of products and services available for purchase was different. Classical historians often say that in the late Roman Republic and early Roman Empire the daily wage for an unskilled laborer and common soldier was 1 denarius or about US$2. 8$ in bread
12.
Obverse and reverse
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In this usage, obverse means the front face of the object and reverse means the back face. The obverse of a coin is commonly called heads, because it depicts the head of a prominent person. In fields of scholarship outside numismatics, the front is more commonly used than obverse. For prints and drawings with material on both sides the one judged as more significant will be the recto, a convention now exists typically to display the obverse to the left and the reverse to the right in photographs and museum displays, but this is not invariably observed. Following this principle, in the most famous of ancient Greek coins, the tetradrachm of Athens, the obverse is the head of Athena, similar versions of these two images, both symbols of the state, were used on the Athenian coins for more than two centuries. The opposite side may have varied from time to time and this change happened in the coinage of Alexander the Great, which continued to be minted long after his death. The various Hellenistic rulers who were his successors followed his tradition and this script alone style then was used on nearly all Islamic coinage until the modern period. The type of Justinian II was revived after the end of Iconoclasm, without images, therefore, it is not always easy to tell which side will be regarded as the obverse without some knowledge. After 695, Islamic coins avoided all images of persons and usually, the side expressing the Six Kalimas is usually defined as the obverse. The form of currency follows its function, which is to serve as an accepted medium of exchange of value. Traditionally, most states have been monarchies where the person of the monarch, if not provided for on the obverse, the reverse side usually contains information relating to a coins role as medium of exchange. Additional space typically reflects the countrys culture or government, or evokes some aspect of the states territory. Regarding the euro, some regarding the obverse and reverse of the euro coins exists. This rule does not apply to the coins as they dont have a common side. A number of the used for obverse national sides of euro coins were taken from the reverse of the old pre-euro coins of some individual countries. Several countries continue to use portraits of the monarch and the Republic of Ireland continues to use the State Arms. The Chrysanthemum Crest was no longer used after the war, and so, the side on which the date continues to be regarded as the reverse. Following ancient tradition, the obverse of coins of the United Kingdom almost always feature the head of the monarch
13.
Leonard Charles Wyon
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Wyons father taught him art and also from his father he inherited great skill in die engraving. By the age of 16 he had made several medals. He first exhibited at the Royal Academy in 1843, from 1844 he studied at the Royal Academy Schools and in the same year, at the age of just 18, he became Second Engraver under his father at the Royal Mint. One of his earliest medals to be widely praised was his 1846 medal of the Irish Temperance preacher Theobald Mathew. In 1850 he was commissioned by Queen Victoria to make portraits of the royal children. Also in 1851, at the age of 24, he succeeded his father, in 1854 he engraved the William Wyon Laudatory Medal, in memory of his father, for the Art Union of London. Like his father before him, he also produced dies for postage, Wyon was invited to prepare designs for the new British bronze coin denominations. It was pointed out to Wyon that on no account was Britannia to be omitted from the reverse of the new coinage, the Queen herself took a personal interest in the design for the new minor coinage and gave several sittings to him for her portrait. Wyon submitted a number of designs to the Queen for her approval and this design included a bronze Penny, commonly known as the Bun Penny on account of Victorias hair style. He therefore had to again and, after he had produced dies of less bold relief. Wyon also engraved the dies for the gold and silver coinage struck for the Golden Jubilee of Queen Victoria in 1887. This coinage, the designs for which were prepared from life by Sir Joseph Boehm, R. A. produced a storm of disapproval and his official medals included the South Africa Medal, the Arctic and Baltic Medals, the Indian Mutiny Medal, and the South Africa Medal. Among his portrait medals are those of William Wordsworth, Robert Stephenson, Joseph Paxton, Richard Sainthill, Henry Hallam, on 22 June 1852 Wyon married Mary Birks and the couple lived in London, first in Maida Vale and from 1856 in St Johns Wood. None of their numerous offspring took up their fathers profession, leonard Charles Wyon died of Brights disease and apoplexy at his home,54 Hamilton Terrace, St Johns Wood, London, on 20 August 1891 and was buried at Paddington Old Cemetery
14.
Francis Drake
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Sir Francis Drake, vice admiral was an English sea captain, privateer, navigator, slaver, and politician of the Elizabethan era. With his incursion into the Pacific he inaugurated an era of privateering, Elizabeth I of England awarded Drake a knighthood in 1581. He was second-in-command of the English fleet against the Spanish Armada in 1588 and he died of dysentery in January 1596 after unsuccessfully attacking San Juan, Puerto Rico. His exploits made him a hero to the English but a pirate to the Spaniards, King Philip II was said to have offered a reward of 20,000 ducats, about £4 million by modern standards, for his life. Francis Drake was born in Tavistock, Devon, England, although his birth is not formally recorded, it is known that he was born while the Six Articles were in force. Drake was two and twenty when he obtained the command of the Judith and this would date his birth to 1544. A date of c.1540 is suggested from two portraits, one a miniature painted by Nicholas Hilliard in 1581 when he was allegedly 42 and he was the eldest of the twelve sons of Edmund Drake, a Protestant farmer, and his wife Mary Mylwaye. The first son was alleged to have named after his godfather Francis Russell. Because of religious persecution during the Prayer Book Rebellion in 1549, there the father obtained an appointment to minister the men in the Kings Navy. He was ordained deacon and was vicar of Upnor Church on the Medway. Drakes father apprenticed Francis to his neighbour, the master of a used for coastal trade transporting merchandise to France. The ship master was so satisfied with the young Drakes conduct that, being unmarried and childless at his death, Francis Drake married Mary Newman in 1569. She died 12 years later, in 1581, in 1585, Drake married Elizabeth Sydenham—born circa 1562, the only child of Sir George Sydenham, of Combe Sydenham, who was the High Sheriff of Somerset. After Drakes death, the widow Elizabeth eventually married Sir William Courtenay of Powderham. At age 23, Drake made his first voyage to the Americas, sailing with his cousin, Sir John Hawkins, on one of a fleet of ships owned by his relatives. In 1568 Drake was again with the Hawkins fleet when it was trapped by the Spaniards in the Mexican port of San Juan de Ulúa, following the defeat at San Juan de Ulúa, Drake vowed revenge. He made two voyages to the West Indies, in 1570 and 1571, of which little is known, in 1572, he embarked on his first major independent enterprise. He planned an attack on the Isthmus of Panama, known to the Spanish as Tierra Firme and the English as the Spanish Main
15.
Northern England
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Northern England or the North of England, also known as the North Country or simply the North, is the northern part of England, when considered as a single cultural area. The area roughly spans from the River Trent and River Dee to the Scottish border in the north, Northern England roughly comprises three statistical regions, the North East, North West and Yorkshire and the Humber. These have a population of around 14.9 million as of the 2011 Census. The region has been controlled by groups from the Brigantes. After the Norman conquest in 1066, the Harrying of the North brought destruction, a Council of the North was in place during the Late Middle Ages until the Commonwealth after the Civil War. The area experienced Anglo–Scottish border fighting until the unification of Britain under the Stuarts, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the economy of the North was dominated by heavy industry such as weaving, shipbuilding, steelmaking and mining. The deindustrialisation that followed in the half of the 20th century hit Northern England hard. For government and statistical purposes, Northern England is defined as the covered by the three statistical regions of North East England, North West England and Yorkshire and the Humber. This definition will be used in article, except when otherwise stated. Using historic county boundaries, the North is generally taken to comprise Cumberland, Northumberland, Westmorland, County Durham, Lancashire and Yorkshire, the Isle of Man is occasionally included in definitions of the North, although it is politically and culturally distinct from England. Additionally, some areas of Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire have been associated with the North. The geographer Danny Dorling includes most of the West Midlands and part of the East Midlands in his definition of the North, conversely, more restrictive definitions also exist, typically based on the extent of the historical Northumbria, which exclude Cheshire and Lincolnshire. Personal definitions of the North vary greatly and are sometimes passionately debated, when asked to draw a dividing line between North and South, Southerners tend to draw this line further south than Northerners do. Various towns have been described as or promoted themselves as the gateway to the North, including Crewe, Stoke-on-Trent, through the North of England run the Pennines, an upland chain often referred to as the backbone of England. This stretches from the Cheviot Hills on the border with Scotland to the Peak District, the geography of the North has been heavily shaped by the ice sheets of the Pleistocene era, which often reached as far south as the Midlands. On the other side of the Pennines, a glacial lake forms the Humberhead Levels, a large area of fenland which drains into the Humber. This has left the North a region of contrasts, the Lake District includes Englands highest peak, Scafell Pike, which rises to 978 m, its largest lake, Windermere, and its deepest lake, Wastwater. However, dense areas have emerged along the coasts and rivers
16.
Oxford English Dictionary
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The Oxford English Dictionary is a descriptive dictionary of the English language, published by the Oxford University Press. The second edition came to 21,728 pages in 20 volumes, in 1895, the title The Oxford English Dictionary was first used unofficially on the covers of the series, and in 1928 the full dictionary was republished in ten bound volumes. In 1933, the title The Oxford English Dictionary fully replaced the name in all occurrences in its reprinting as twelve volumes with a one-volume supplement. More supplements came over the years until 1989, when the edition was published. Since 2000, an edition of the dictionary has been underway. The first electronic version of the dictionary was available in 1988. The online version has been available since 2000, and as of April 2014 was receiving two million hits per month. The third edition of the dictionary will probably appear in electronic form, Nigel Portwood, chief executive of Oxford University Press. As a historical dictionary, the Oxford English Dictionary explains words by showing their development rather than merely their present-day usages, therefore, it shows definitions in the order that the sense of the word began being used, including word meanings which are no longer used. The format of the OEDs entries has influenced numerous other historical lexicography projects and this influenced later volumes of this and other lexicographical works. As of 30 November 2005, the Oxford English Dictionary contained approximately 301,100 main entries, the dictionarys latest, complete print edition was printed in 20 volumes, comprising 291,500 entries in 21,730 pages. The longest entry in the OED2 was for the verb set, as entries began to be revised for the OED3 in sequence starting from M, the longest entry became make in 2000, then put in 2007, then run in 2011. Despite its impressive size, the OED is neither the worlds largest nor the earliest exhaustive dictionary of a language, the Dutch dictionary Woordenboek der Nederlandsche Taal is the worlds largest dictionary, has similar aims to the OED and took twice as long to complete. Another earlier large dictionary is the Grimm brothers dictionary of the German language, begun in 1838, the official dictionary of Spanish is the Diccionario de la lengua española, and its first edition was published in 1780. The Kangxi dictionary of Chinese was published in 1716, trench suggested that a new, truly comprehensive dictionary was needed. On 7 January 1858, the Society formally adopted the idea of a new dictionary. Volunteer readers would be assigned particular books, copying passages illustrating word usage onto quotation slips, later the same year, the Society agreed to the project in principle, with the title A New English Dictionary on Historical Principles. He withdrew and Herbert Coleridge became the first editor, on 12 May 1860, Coleridges dictionary plan was published and research was started
17.
Coins of the pound sterling
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The standard circulating coinage of the United Kingdom is denominated in pounds sterling, and, since the introduction of the two-pound coin in 1994, ranges in value from one penny to two pounds. Since decimalisation, on 15 February 1971, the pound has been divided into 100 pence, from the 16th century until decimalisation, the pound was divided into 20 shillings, each of 12 pence. British coins are minted by the Royal Mint in Llantrisant, Wales, the Royal Mint also commissions the coins designs. As of 30 March 2010, there were an estimated 28 billion coins circulating in the United Kingdom, the first decimal coins were circulated in 1968. These were the five pence and ten pence, and had values of one shilling, the decimal coins are minted in copper-plated steel, nickel-plated steel, cupro-nickel and nickel-brass. The two-pound coins, and, as of the 28th March 2017, all the circulating coins have an effigy of Queen Elizabeth II on the obverse, and various national and regional designs, and the denomination, on the reverse. The exception, the 2008 one-pound coin, depicts the shield of arms on the reverse. All current coins carry a Latin inscription whose full form is ELIZABETH II DEI GRATIA REGINA FIDEI DEFENSATRIX, meaning Elizabeth II, by the grace of God, Queen, in addition to the circulating coinage, the UK also mints commemorative decimal coins in the denomination of five pounds. Prior to decimalisation, the denomination was five shillings, that is. Crowns, therefore, had a value of 25p from decimalisation until 1981. Ceremonial Maundy money and bullion coinage of gold sovereigns, half sovereigns, some territories outside the United Kingdom, that use the pound sterling, produce their own coinage, with the same denominations and specifications as the UK coinage but local designs. In the years just prior to decimalisation, the circulating British coins were the half crown, the farthing had been withdrawn in 1960. There was also the Crown, which was legal tender but only minted on special occasions, all modern coins feature a profile of the current monarchs head. The direction in which they face changes with each successive monarch, for the Tudors and pre-Restoration Stuarts, both left and right-facing portrait images were minted within the reign of a single monarch. In the Middle Ages, portrait images tended to be full face, the English silver penny was derived from another silver coin, the sceat, of 20 troy grains weight, which was in general circulation in Europe during the Middle Ages. In the 12th century, Henry II established the silver standard for English coinage, of 92. 5% silver and 7. 5% copper. The coinage reform of 1816 set up a ratio and physical sizes for silver coins. Silver was eliminated from coins, except Maundy coins, in 1947, the history of the Royal Mint stretches back to AD886
18.
Penny (British decimal coin)
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The British decimal one penny coin, usually simply known as a penny, is a unit of currency equaling one one-hundredth of a pound sterling. Its obverse has featured the profile of Queen Elizabeth II since the introduction in 1971. Four different portraits of the Queen have been used on the coin, the second and current reverse, featuring a segment of the Royal Shield, was introduced in 2008. The correct plural form for multiple 1p coins is pennies, the correct term for monetary amounts of pennies greater than 1p is pence. The penny was minted from bronze, but since 1992 it has been minted in copper-plated steel due to the increasing price of metal. Soaring copper prices in the mid-2000s caused the value of the copper in the coins to exceed the coins face value. For example, in May 2006, the metal value of a pre-1992 1p coin was about 1.5 pence. During 2008, the value of copper fell dramatically from these peaks, as of 31 March 2014 there were an estimated 11,278 million 1p coins in circulation, with an estimated total face value of £112.787 million. The penny is the lowest value coin in circulation in the United Kingdom, to date, four different obverses have been used. In all cases, the inscription is ELIZABETH II D. G. REG. F. D,2013, where 2013 is replaced by the year of minting. In the original design both sides of the coin are encircled by dots, a feature on coins, known as beading. As with all new decimal currency, until 1984 the portrait of Queen Elizabeth II by Arnold Machin appeared on the obverse, in which the Queen wears the Girls of Great Britain, the words NEW PENNY were inscribed above the portcullis up until 1981. From 1982 the inscription changed to ONE PENNY, between 1985 and 1997 the portrait by Raphael Maklouf was used, in which the Queen wears the George IV State Diadem. In 1992 the metal used in minting this coin was switched from bronze to copper-plated steel, between 1998 and 2015 the portrait by Ian Rank-Broadley has been used, again featuring the tiara, with a signature-mark IRB below the portrait. As of June 2015, coins bearing the portrait by Jody Clark have been seen in circulation, in August 2005 the Royal Mint launched a competition to find new reverse designs for all circulating coins apart from the £2 coin. The winner, announced in April 2008, was Matthew Dent, the designs for the 1p, 2p, 5p, 10p, 20p and 50p coins depict sections of the Royal Shield that form the whole shield when placed together. The entire shield is featured on the £1 coin, the 1p coin depicts the left section between the first and third quarter of the shield, representing England and Northern Ireland. The coins obverse remains largely unchanged, but the beading, which no longer features on the reverse, has also been removed from the obverse
19.
Two pence (British decimal coin)
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The British decimal two pence coin – often pronounced two pee – is a unit of currency equaling two one-hundredths of a pound sterling. Its obverse has featured the profile of Queen Elizabeth II since the introduction in 1971. Four different portraits of the Queen have been used on the coin, the second and current reverse, featuring a segment of the Royal Shield, was introduced in 2008. The two pence coin was minted from bronze, but since 1992 it has been minted in copper-plated steel due to the increasing price of metal. By May 2006 the pre-1992 coins contained 3p worth of copper each, as of May 2006, about 2.55 billion such coins remained in circulation. However, The Royal Mint warned that tampering with coinage is illegal in the UK, during 2008, the value of copper fell dramatically from these peaks. As of March 2014 there were an estimated 6.55 billion 2p coins in circulation with a face value of £131 million. The numeral 2 is written below the badge, and either NEW PENCE or TWO PENCE is written above, however, a small number of 1983 New Pence coins exist. These coins are rare, and are considered collectors items. It was originally planned that a version of the 2p would be minted with a design representing Northern Ireland. These plans never came to fruition, however, the design was also re-cut in 1993 producing two minor varieties for that year. To date, five different obverses have been used, four different portraits, in all cases, the inscription is ELIZABETH II D. G. REG. F. D. 2013, where 2013 is replaced by the year of minting, in the original design both sides of the coin are encircled by dots, a common feature on coins, known as beading. As with all new decimal currency, until 1984 the portrait of Queen Elizabeth II by Arnold Machin appeared on the obverse, in which the Queen wears the Girls of Great Britain and Ireland Tiara. Between 1985 and 1997 the portrait by Raphael Maklouf was used, in 1992 the metal used in minting this coin was switched from bronze to copper-plated steel. From 1998 to 2015 the portrait by Ian Rank-Broadley was used, again featuring the tiara, as of June 2015, coins bearing the portrait by Jody Clark have been seen in circulation. In August 2005 the Royal Mint launched a competition to find new designs for all circulating coins apart from the £2 coin. The winner, announced in April 2008, was Matthew Dent, the designs for the 1p, 2p, 5p, 10p, 20p and 50p coins depict sections of the Royal Shield that form the whole shield when placed together
20.
Five pence (British coin)
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The British decimal five pence coin – often pronounced five pee – is a unit of currency equaling five one-hundredths of a pound sterling. Its obverse has featured the profile of Queen Elizabeth II since the introduction in 1968. Four different portraits of the Queen have been used, with the latest design by Jody Clark being introduced in 2015, the second and current reverse, featuring a segment of the Royal Shield, was introduced in 2008. Five pence and ten pence coins are legal tender only up to the sum of £5, the five pence coin was originally minted from cupronickel, but since 2011 it has been minted in nickel-plated steel due to the increasing price of metal. From January 2013, the Royal Mint began a programme to remove the previous cupro-nickel coins from circulation with replacement by the nickel-plated steel versions. As of March 2014, an estimated 3,847 million 5p coins were in circulation with a face value of £192.370 million. To date, three different obverses have been used, in all cases, the inscription is ELIZABETH II D. G. REG. F. D. 2013, where 2013 is replaced by the year of minting, in the original design, both sides of the coin are encircled by dots, a common feature on coins, known as beading. As with all new decimal currency, until 1984 the portrait of Queen Elizabeth II by Arnold Machin appeared on the obverse, in which the Queen wears the Girls of Great Britain and Ireland Tiara. Between 1985 and 1997, the portrait by Raphael Maklouf was used, in 1990, the 5p coin was reduced in size and the older coins were removed from circulation. From 1998 to 2015, the portrait by Ian Rank-Broadley was used, again featuring the tiara, as of June 2015, coins bearing the portrait by Jody Clark have been seen in circulation. In August 2005 the Royal Mint launched a competition to find new designs for all circulating coins apart from the £2 coin. The winner, announced in April 2008, was Matthew Dent, the designs for the 1p, 2p, 5p, 10p, 20p and 50p coins depict sections of the Royal Shield that form the whole shield when placed together. The shield in its entirety is featured on the £1 coin, the 5p coin depicts the centre of the Royal shield, showing the meeting point of the four quarters. The coins obverse remains largely unchanged, but the beading, which no longer features on the reverse, has also been removed from the obverse. Royal Mint – 5p coin Coins of the UK – Decimal 5p coins
21.
Ten pence (British coin)
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The British decimal ten pence coin – often pronounced ten pee – is a unit of currency equalling ten one-hundredths of a pound sterling. Its obverse has featured the profile of Queen Elizabeth II since the introduction in 1968. Four different portraits of the Queen have been used on the coin, the second and current reverse, featuring a segment of the Royal Shield, was introduced in 2008. The ten pence coin was minted from cupro-nickel, but since 2012 it has been minted in nickel-plated steel due to the increasing price of metal. From January 2013 the Royal Mint began a programme to remove the previous cupro-nickel coins from circulation with replacement by the nickel-plated steel versions. As of March 2014 there were an estimated 1,631 million 10p coins in circulation with a face value of £163.080 million. To date, three different obverses have been used, in all cases, the inscription till 2015 was ELIZABETH II D. G. REG. F. D. 2013, where 2013 is replaced by the year of minting, in the original design both sides of the coin are encircled by dots, a common feature on coins, known as beading. As with all new decimal currency, until 1984 the portrait of Queen Elizabeth II by Arnold Machin appeared on the obverse, in which the Queen wears the Girls of Great Britain and Ireland Tiara. Between 1985 and 1997 the portrait by Raphael Maklouf was used, in 1992 the 10p coin was reduced in size and the older coins were removed from circulation. From 1998 to 2015 the portrait by Ian Rank-Broadley was used, again featuring the tiara, as of June 2015, coins bearing the portrait by Jody Clark have been seen in circulation. In August 2005 the Royal Mint launched a competition to find new designs for all circulating coins apart from the £2 coin. The winner, announced in April 2008, was Matthew Dent, the designs for the 1p, 2p, 5p, 10p, 20p and 50p coins depict sections of the Royal Shield that form the whole shield when placed together. The shield in its entirety is featured on the £1 coin, the 10p coin depicts the first quarter of the shield, showing the lions passant from the Royal Banner of England, with the words TEN PENCE above the shield design. The coins obverse remains largely unchanged, but the beading, which no longer features on the reverse, has also been removed from the obverse. Machin portrait Maklouf portrait Rank-Broadley portrait Royal Mint – 10p coin Coins of the UK – Decimal 10p Coin
22.
Twenty pence (British coin)
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The British decimal twenty pence coin – often pronounced twenty pee – is a unit of currency equaling twenty one-hundredths of a pound sterling. Like the 50p coin it is an equilateral curve heptagon and its obverse has featured the profile of Queen Elizabeth II since the coin’s introduction in 1982. Four different portraits of the Queen have been used, with the latest design by Jody Clark being introduced in 2015, the second and current reverse, featuring a segment of the Royal Shield, was introduced in 2008. Twenty and fifty pence coins are legal tender only up to the sum of £10, as of March 2014 there were an estimated 2,765 million 20p coins in circulation with an estimated face value of £553.025 million. The original reverse of the coin, designed by William Gardner, and used from 1982 to 2008, is a crowned Tudor rose, with the numeral 20 below the rose, to date, three different obverses have been used. For coins minted before 2008, the inscription is ELIZABETH II D. G. REG. F. D, Coins minted after 2008 have the year of minting on the obverse. As with all new decimal currency, until 1984 the portrait of Queen Elizabeth II by Arnold Machin appeared on the obverse, in which the Queen wears the Girls of Great Britain and Ireland Tiara. Between 1985 and 1997 the portrait by Raphael Maklouf was used, from 1998 to 2015 the portrait by Ian Rank-Broadley was used, again featuring the tiara, with a signature-mark IRB below the portrait. As of June 2015, coins bearing the portrait by Jody Clark have been seen in circulation, in August 2005 the Royal Mint launched a competition to find new reverse designs for all circulating coins apart from the £2 coin. The winner, announced in April 2008, was Matthew Dent, the designs for the 1p, 2p, 5p, 10p, 20p and 50p coins depict sections of the Royal Shield that form the whole shield when placed together. The shield in its entirety is featured on the £1 coin, the 20p coin depicts the meeting point of the second and fourth quarter of the shield, showing the Lion Rampant of Scotland and the Lions Passants of England. The date no longer appears on the reverse of the coin, and has instead been added to the obverse, where the lettering has been adjusted so as to fit the date in. An unusual accidental dateless version of the 20 pence was reported to be in circulation in June 2009 and this was the result of the production of a mule, i. e. a version of the coin with a non-standard combination of obverse and reverse face designs. The Royal Mint estimated that between 50,000 and 200,000 entered circulation before the error was noticed, the Royal Mint stated these coins were still legal tender, although due to their rarity they are traded above face value by collectors. In June 2011 they trade at around £100, Machin portrait Maklouf portrait Rank-Broadley portrait Matthew Dent design Royal Mint – 20p coin Coins of the UK – Decimal 20p Coin
23.
Fifty pence (British coin)
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The British decimal fifty pence coin – often pronounced fifty pee – is a unit of currency equaling one half of a pound sterling. It is a seven-sided coin formed as an equilateral-curve heptagon, or Reuleaux polygon and its obverse has featured the profile of Queen Elizabeth II since the coin’s introduction in 1969. Four different portraits of the Queen have been used, with the latest design by Jody Clark being introduced in 2015, the second and current reverse, featuring a segment of the Royal Shield, was introduced in 2008. As of March 2014 there were an estimated 948 million 50p coins in circulation, in 1967 the Deputy Master of the Royal Mint approached the Decimal Currency Board to ask for their advice on the introduction of a new coin. The 10 shilling note then in use was lasting only five months and it had suggested that a coin. Each coin was identified within its tier by its size and each tier had to be capable of being identified by sight and touch. This was achieved in the existing sets by the use of different materials with the copper coins having plain rims, the bronze 3d bit being 12-sided. It would therefore have to be in a new tier of its own, the Mint could not find a suitable metal which was sufficiently different in colour to the existing coins and which would not tarnish. This last point was thought to be important because the new coin would be the most valuable coin in circulation in the world. It therefore had to be a different shape, various methods had been used overseas to overcome this problem, the Technical Member on the Decimal Currency Board was Hugh Conway, at that time President of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers and Managing Director of Bristol Siddeley Engines, Bristol. However, this out to be a wavy-edged form with re-entrant sides which would not roll. Wherever it was measured, the breadth of this shape was one small radius plus one large radius, the number of corners could be any odd number greater than one. A drawing was made to illustrate the proposal which was accepted by Hugh Conway, the legend 50 was photo-etched on the faces of the samples since it had already been decided that the new coin would be the first coin of the new Decimal series. When the Decimal Currency Board met none of the members had any suggestion to make. The shape of the original 50p coin has been copied all over the world, to date, three different obverses have been used. In all cases, the inscription is ELIZABETH II D. G. REG. F. D,2013, where 2013 is replaced by the year of minting, the Benjamin Britten coin additionally has the denomination, FIFTY PENCE, on the obverse, before the year. As with all new decimal currency, until 1984 the portrait of Queen Elizabeth II by Arnold Machin appeared on the obverse, in which the Queen wears the Girls of Great Britain and Ireland Tiara. Between 1985 and 1997 the portrait by Raphael Maklouf was used, in 1997 the 50p coin was reduced in size and the older coins were removed from circulation
24.
One pound (British coin)
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The British one pound coin is a denomination of the pound sterling. Its obverse bears the Latin engraving D G REG “Dei Gratia Regina” meaning, “By the grace of God, Queen” and it has featured the profile of Queen Elizabeth II since the coins introduction on 21 April 1983. Four different portraits of the Queen have been used, with the latest design by Jody Clark being introduced in 2015. One-pound notes continue to be issued in Jersey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man, and by the Royal Bank of Scotland, since 28 March 2017, two versions of the one pound coin have been in circulation - the original round design and a new 12-sided design. As of March 2014 there were an estimated 1,553 million round £1 coins in circulation, of which the Royal Mint estimated in 2014 that 3. 04% were counterfeit. In an effort to counter this, the Royal Mint introduced the new 12-sided coin, which is bimetallic like the current £2 coin, the round pound will remain in circulation until October 2017. To date, five different obverses have been used, for the first three of these, the inscription was ELIZABETH II D. G. REG. F. D. 2013, where 2013 is replaced by the year of minting, the fourth design, unveiled in March 2015, expanded the inscription slightly to ELIZABETH II DEI. GRA. REG. FID. DEF. The fifth design, introduced in March 2017, reverted to D. G. REG. F. D. In summary, In 1983 and 1984 the portrait of Queen Elizabeth II by Arnold Machin appeared on the obverse, in which the Queen wears the Girls of Great Britain and Ireland Tiara. Between 1985 and 1997 the portrait by Raphael Maklouf was used, between 1998 and 2015 the portrait by Ian Rank-Broadley was used, again featuring the tiara, with a signature-mark IRB below the portrait. In 2015 the portrait by Jody Clark was introduced, in which the Queen wears the George IV State Diadem, in August 2005 the Royal Mint launched a competition to find new reverse designs for all circulating coins apart from the £2 coin. The winner, announced in April 2008, was Matthew Dent, the designs for the 1p, 2p, 5p, 10p, 20p and 50p coins depict sections of the Royal Shield that form the whole shield when placed together. The shield in its entirety is featured on the £1 coin and this edge inscription may frequently be upside-down. Since 2008, national-based designs have still been minted, but alongside the new standard version, the inscription ONE POUND appears on all reverse designs. The reverse of the new 12-sided bimetallic pound coin, introduced on 28 March 2017, was chosen by a design competition. The competition to design the reverse of coin was opened in September 2014. It was won in March 2015 by 15-year-old David Pearce from Walsall, the design features a rose, leek, thistle and shamrock bound by a crown
25.
Two pounds (British coin)
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The British two pound coin is a denomination of the pound sterling. Its obverse has featured the profile of Queen Elizabeth II since the coin’s introduction, three different portraits of the Queen have been used, with the current design by Jody Clark being introduced in 2015. The coin was introduced on 15 June 1998 after a review of the United Kingdoms coinage decided that a general-circulation £2 coin was needed, the new bi-metallic design replaced a series of commemorative, uni-metallic coins which were issued between 1986 and 1996 to celebrate special occasions. Although legal tender, these coins have never been common in everyday circulation, as of March 2014 there were an estimated 417 million £2 coins in circulation with an estimated face value of £831.756 million. The coin consists of a yellow metal nickel-brass ring made from 76% copper, 20% zinc, and 4% nickel. The coin weighs 12 grams and is 28.4 millimetres in diameter, the design itself was first tried out in 1994 when the Royal Mint produced a short run of demonstration pieces to the new bi-metal standard. These pieces were not for circulation and were intended to test the manufacturing process. The 1994 pieces were never legal tender but were released for sale as part of a presentation set in 1998. At the same time in 1994 the Royal Mint produced a mono-metallic trial two-pound coin, with the same reverse and inscription. These were never issued in sets, and so are much scarcer than the bi-metallic version. Because of technical difficulties, the 1997-dated coins, which bear the effigy of Queen Elizabeth II by Raphael Maklouf, were not released to circulation until June 1998,1998 and later dated coins bear the effigy of the Queen by Ian Rank-Broadley. The Maklouf-effigy coins bear the inscription ELIZABETH II DEI GRATIA REGINA F D on the obverse, an oddity of the design is that it depicts nineteen interlocking gears. Because there is an odd number of them, the mechanism could not actually turn, if I have seen further, it is by standing on the shoulders of giants. In February 2015, the Royal Mint announced a new design featuring Britannia by Antony Dufort replacing the previous design. The new coins will feature the edge inscription QUATUOR MARIA VINDICO, meaning I will claim the four seas, in addition to the standard designs there have been several variant reverse designs used on the £2 coin to commemorate important events. These are summarised in the table below, Coins of the pound sterling Banknotes of the pound sterling Royal Mint – £2 coin Coins of the UK – Decimal £2 Coins The Pemember error on the £2 Gunpowder Plot commemorative
26.
Half farthing
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The British half farthing coin, usually simply known as a half farthing, was a unit of currency equaling one one-thousand-nine-hundred-and-twentieth of a pound sterling, or one eighth of a penny. It was minted in copper for use in Ceylon, but in 1842 they were declared legal tender in the United Kingdom, like all British coinage, it bore the portrait of the monarch on the obverse. Before Decimal Day in 1971 there were two hundred and forty pence in one pound sterling, there were four farthings in a penny. Twelve pence made a shilling, and twenty shillings made a pound, values less than a pound were usually written in terms of shillings and pence, e. g. forty-two pence would be three shillings and six pence, pronounced three and six or three and sixpence. Values of less than a shilling were simply written in terms of pence, a price with a farthing in it would be written like this, pronounced nineteen and elevenpence farthing. The coin was produced in 1828 for use in Ceylon. There was no indication of its value, the coin was made of copper, weighed 2.4 grams, and had a diameter of 18 millimetres. In 1837, in the reign of King William IV, there was another issue, also of copper,18 millimetres in diameter, but only weighing 2.3 grams. The obverse of this bears the right-facing portrait of William IV with the inscription GULIELMUS IIII DEI GRATIA1837. In the reign of Queen Victoria, coins were minted for circulation in 1839,1842,1843,1844,1847,1851,1852,1853,1854, again they were made of copper,18 millimetres in diameter, and weighed 2.4 grams. The change in design was because the coin was made legal tender in the United Kingdom from 13 June 1842. There was much cynicism of the need for such a coin in Britain, with letters written to The Times, the purchasing value of a penny in 1844, at 2013 purchasing power, is 35p. A half-farthing, therefore would have had a value today of 4. 375p, yet, as of 2014, the UK still has widely circulating coins of just 1p and 2p. The half-farthing therefore was not of so minuscule a value as writers of the day might imagine, the entire denomination was demonetised from 1 January 1870
27.
Farthing (British coin)
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The British farthing coin, from fourthing, was a unit of currency of one quarter of a penny, or one nine hundred and sixtieth of a pound sterling. It was minted in bronze, and replaced the earlier copper farthings and it was used during the reign of six monarchs, Victoria, Edward VII, George V, Edward VIII, George VI and Elizabeth II, ceasing to be legal tender in 1960. It featured two different designs on its reverse during its one hundred years in circulation, from 1860 until 1936, the image of Britannia, and from 1937 onwards, like all British coinage, it bore the portrait of the monarch on the obverse. Before Decimal Day in 1971, there were two hundred and forty pence in one pound sterling, there were four farthings in a penny, twelve pence made a shilling, and twenty shillings made a pound. Values less than a pound were usually written in terms of shillings and pence, values of less than a shilling were simply written in terms of pence, e. g. 8d, pronounced eightpence. A price with a farthing in it would be written like this, pronounced nineteen, as of 2014, the purchasing power of a farthing in 1960 ranged between 2p and 7p. The original reverse of the coin, designed by Leonard Charles Wyon, is a seated Britannia, holding a trident, issues before 1895 also feature a lighthouse to Britannias left and a ship to her right. Various minor adjustments to the level of the sea depicted around Britannia, some issues feature toothed edges, while others feature beading. Over the years, seven different obverses were used, Edward VII, George V, George VI and Elizabeth II each had a single obverse for farthings produced during their respective reigns. Over the long reign of Queen Victoria two different obverses were used, and the reign of Edward VIII meant that no farthings bearing his likeness were ever issued. The farthing was first issued with the so-called bun head, or draped bust of Queen Victoria on the obverse, the inscription around the bust read VICTORIA D G BRITT REG F D. This was replaced in 1895 by the old head, or veiled bust, the inscription on these coins read VICTORIA DEI GRA BRITT REGINA FID DEF IND IMP. Coins issued during the reign of Edward VII feature his likeness, similarly, those issued during the reign of George V feature his likeness and bear the inscription GEORGIVS V DEI GRA BRITT OMN REX FID DEF IND IMP. The obverse shows a portrait of the king, the inscription on the obverse is EDWARDVS VIII D G BR OMN REX F D IND IMP. The pattern coin of Edward VIII and regular-issue farthings of George VI and Elizabeth II feature a redesigned reverse displaying the wren, one of Britains smallest birds. George VI issue coins feature the inscription GEORGIVS VI D G BR OMN REX F D IND IMP before 1949, and GEORGIVS VI D G BR OMN REX FIDEI DEF thereafter
28.
Penny (British pre-decimal coin)
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The pre-decimal penny was a coin worth 1/240th of a pound sterling. Its symbol was d, from the Roman denarius and it was a continuation of the earlier English penny, and in Scotland it had the same monetary value as one pre-1707 Scottish shilling. The penny was minted in silver, but from the late 18th century it was minted in copper. The plural of penny is pence when referring to a quantity of money, thus 8d is eight pence, but eight pennies means specifically eight individual penny coins. Before Decimal Day in 1971 twelve pence made a shilling, and twenty shillings made a pound, values less than a pound were usually written in terms of shillings and pence, e. g.42 pence would be three shillings and sixpence, pronounced three and six. Values of less than a shilling were simply written in terms of pence and this version of the penny was made obsolete in 1971 by decimalisation, and was replaced by the decimal penny which had a value 140% more. The kingdoms of England and Scotland were merged by the 1707 Act of Union to form the Kingdom of Great Britain, the penny replaced the shilling of the pound scots. The design and specifications of the English penny were unchanged by the Union, Queen Annes reign saw pennies minted in 1708,1709,1710, and 1713. These issues, however, were not for circulation, instead being minted as Maundy money. The prohibitive cost of minting silver coins had meant the size of pennies had been reduced over the years, the practice of minting pennies only for Maundy money continued through the reigns of George I and George II, and into that of George III. In 1797, the government authorised Matthew Boulton to strike copper pennies and twopences at his Soho Mint in Birmingham. At the time it was believed that the value of a coin should correspond to the value of the material it was made from. This requirement meant that the coins would be larger than the silver pennies minted previously. The large size of the coins, combined with the rim where the inscription was incuse i. e. punched into the metal rather than standing proud of it. These pennies were minted over the course of years. By 1802, the production of privately issued provincial tokens had ceased, however, in the next ten years the intrinsic value of copper rose. The return of privately minted token coinage was evident by 1811 and endemic by 1812, the Royal Mint undertook a massive recoinage programme in 1816, with large quantities of gold and silver coin being minted. To thwart the further issuance of private token coinage, in 1817 an Act of Parliament was passed which forbade the manufacture of private token coinage under very severe penalties
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Twopence (British pre-decimal coin)
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The pre-decimal twopence was a coin worth one one-hundred-and-twentieth of a pound sterling, or two pence. It was a short lived denomination, only being minted in 1797 by Matthew Boultons Soho Mint, before Decimal Day in 1971, two hundred and forty pence equaled one pound sterling. Twelve pence made a shilling, and twenty shillings made a pound, values less than a pound were usually written in terms of shillings and pence, e. g. forty-two pence would be three shillings and six pence, pronounced three and six. Values of less than a shilling were simply written in terms of pence and these coins were made legal tender for amounts of up to one shilling by a proclamation of 26 July 1797. They were later made redundant in 1860 with the advent of bronze coinage, the minting of silver pennies for general circulation was halted in 1660 by the British government because the cost of silver had become too high. By the late 1700s this policy had caused a deficiency in the number of circulating pennies, for example, the Parys Mining Company on Anglesey issued huge numbers of tokens. To alleviate this shortage, in 1797, the government authorised Matthew Boulton to strike copper pennies and twopences at his Soho Mint. It was believed that the value of a coin should correspond to the value of the material it was made from. This requirement means that the coins are larger than the silver pennies minted previously. The large size of the coins, combined with the rim where the inscription was punched into the metal. All cartwheel twopences are marked with the date 1797, in total, around 720,000 twopences were minted. By 1802, the production of privately issued provincial tokens had ceased, however, in the next ten years the intrinsic value of copper rose. The return of privately minted token coinage was evident by 1811 and endemic by 1812, the Royal Mint undertook a massive recoinage programme in 1816, with large quantities of gold and silver coin being minted. To thwart the further issuance of private token coinage, in 1817 an act of parliament was passed which forbade the manufacture of private token coinage under very severe penalties. A short-lived twopence denomination in silver was produced, with circulation issues in 1817,1818 and 1820 after which silver twopence were only issued as Maundy money. In 1857 a survey by the Royal Mint found that one third of all copper coinage was worn or mutilated. These new coins were introduced in 1860 and a year later the withdrawal of the old copper coinage began, the twopence was minted in copper, with a weight of 2 oz and a diameter of 1.6 in. The obverse features a portrait of George III, and incused into the rim are the words GEORGIUS III·D·G·REX
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Threepence (British coin)
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The British threepence coin, usually simply known as a threepence or threepenny bit, was a unit of currency equaling one eightieth of a pound sterling, or three old pence sterling. It was used in the United Kingdom, and earlier in Great Britain, similar denominations were later used throughout the British Empire, notably in Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa. The sum of three pence was pronounced variously THROOP-ence, THREPP-ence or THRUPP-ence, reflecting different pronunciations in the regions and nations of the United Kingdom. Likewise, the coin was referred to in conversation as a THROOP-nee, THREPP-nee or THRUPP-nee bit. Before Decimal Day in 1971 there were two hundred and forty pence in one pound sterling, twelve pence made a shilling, and twenty shillings made a pound. Values less than a pound were usually written in terms of shillings and pence, values of less than a shilling were simply written in terms of pence, e. g. eight pence would be 8d. The three pence coin – expressed in writing as 3d – first appeared in England during the silver coinage of King Edward VI. Hence the coin was not minted in the two reigns. Edward VI threepences were struck at the London and York mints, the obverse shows a front-facing bust of the king, with a rose to the left and the value numeral III to the right, surrounded by the legend EDWARD VI D G ANG FRA Z HIB REX. The reverse shows a cross over the royal shield, surrounded by the legend POSUI DEUM ADIUTOREM MEUM. Queen Elizabeth I produced threepences during her third coinage, most 1561 issues are 21 mm in diameter, while later ones are 19 mm in diameter. These coins are identifiable from other denominations by the rose behind the head on the obverse. Dates used for the coins were 1561–77. Threepences of the fourth coinage are identical except for having a lower silver content. There was also a fairly rare milled coinage threepence, produced between 1561 and 1564 with similar designs and inscriptions to the hammered coinage threepences, the denomination is identified by the numeral III appearing behind the kings head. By far the most common Charles I threepences were produced at the Aberystwyth mint between 1638 and 1642, plumes were the identifying symbol of the Aberystwyth mint, but the Bristol and Oxford mints often used dies from the Aberystwyth mint so plumes often appear on their output too. 1644 OX – The religion of the Protestants, the laws of England,1644 Oxford, while around the outside of the coin is the legend EXURGAT DEUS DISSIPENTUR INIMICI – Let God arise and His enemies be scattered. This coin also appears dated 1646, the mint at Bristol produced rare threepences in 1644 and 1645
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Fourpence (British coin)
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The pre-decimal fourpence, sometimes known as a groat or fourpenny bit, was a coin worth one sixtieth of a pound sterling, or four pence. The coin was known as a joey after the MP Joseph Hume. It was a revival of the pre-Union coin, before Decimal Day in 1971 there were two hundred and forty pence in one pound sterling. Twelve pence made a shilling, and twenty shillings made a pound, values less than a pound were usually written in terms of shillings and pence, e. g. forty-two pence would be three shillings and six pence, abbreviated to three and six in common speech. Values of less than a shilling were simply written in terms of pence, the prospect of the introduction of a general circulation fourpence coin was raised in 1835, when the MP Joseph Hume spoke in Parliament in favour of its introduction. His reasoning was that the coin was convenient for paying cab fares, the threepence was introduced in 1845 to afford additional convenience for the purpose of change. This new coin proved much more popular than the fourpence, the final regular issue of groats was made in 1855, although proofs were minted in 1857 and 1862. In 1888 a special request was made for a variety to be minted for use in British Guiana. The groat remained in circulation in British Guiana right up until that territory adopted the system in 1955. The original reverse of the 1836 version of the coin, designed by William Wyon, is a seated Britannia, holding a trident, two different obverses were used during the mintage of this coin. Those fourpences minted in 1888 bear the head of Victoria
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Sixpence (British coin)
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The sixpence, sometimes known as a tanner or sixpenny bit, was a coin worth one-fortieth of a pound sterling, or six pence. It was first minted in the reign of Edward VI and circulated until 1980, following decimalisation in 1971 it had a value of 2 1⁄2 new pence. The coin was made from silver from its introduction in 1551 to 1947, prior to Decimal Day in 1971 there were 240 pence in one pound sterling. Twelve pence made a shilling, and twenty shillings made a pound, values less than a pound were usually written in shillings and pence, e. g.42 old pence would be three shillings and sixpence, often pronounced three and six. Values of less than a shilling were simply written in terms of pence, the first sixpences were minted in 1551, during the reign of Edward VI. They came about as a result of the debasement of coinage in the 1540s, in particular the silver testoon. The debased testoon was likely useful in everyday transactions, and it was decided that new coinage should be introduced with the denomination of six pence. Sixpences were minted during the reign of every British monarch after Edward VI, an alternative explanation for the nickname is that it comes from Romany Gypsy word tawno meaning small thing. The Royal Mint undertook a massive programme in 1816, with large quantities of gold. Previous issues of silver coinage had been irregular, and the issue, minted in 1787. New silver coinage was to be of.925 standard, with coins to be minted at 66 shillings to the pound weight. Hence, newly minted sixpences weighed 43.636 grains or 2.828 grams, the Royal Mint debased the silver coinage in 1920 from 92. 5% silver to 50% silver. Sixpences of both alloys were minted that year and this debasement was done because of the rising price of silver around the world, and followed the global trend of elimination, or reduction in purity, of the silver in coinage. The minting of coinage of the pound sterling ceased completely in 1946 for similar reasons. New silver coinage was minted in cupronickel, an alloy of copper. Beginning with Lord Wrottesleys proposals in the 1820s, there were attempts to decimalise the pound sterling over the next century. These attempts came to nothing significant until the 1960s when the need for a currency more suited to simple monetary calculations became pressing, the decision to decimalise was announced in 1966, with the pound to be divided into 100, rather than 240, pence. Decimal Day was set for 15 February 1971, and a range of new coins were introduced
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Shilling (British coin)
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The shilling was a coin worth one twentieth of a pound sterling, or twelve pence. It was first minted in the reign of Henry VII as the testoon, the word bob was sometimes used for a monetary value of several shillings, e. g. ten bob note. Following decimalisation in 1970 the coin had a value of five new pence and it was made from silver from its introduction in or around 1503 until 1947, and thereafter in cupronickel. Prior to Decimal Day in 1971 there were 240 pence in one pound sterling, twelve pence made a shilling, and twenty shillings made a pound. Values less than a pound were usually written in terms of shillings and pence, values of less than a shilling were simply written in terms of pence, e. g. eight pence would be 8d. Although the coin was not minted until the sixteenth century, the value of a shilling had been used for accounting purposes since the Anglo-Saxon period, originally, a shilling was deemed to be the value of a cow in Kent, or a sheep elsewhere. The value of one shilling equalling 12d was set by the Normans following the conquest, prior to this various Anglo-Saxon coins equalling 3,4, the first coins of the pound sterling with the value of 12d were minted in 1503 or 1504 and were known as testoons. Between 1544 and 1551 the coinage was debased repeatedly by the governments of Henry VIII and this debasement meant that coins produced in 1551 had one-fifth of the silver content of those minted in 1544, and consequently the value of new testoons fell from 12d to 6d. The reason the testoon decreased in value is that unlike today and this debasement was recognised as a mistake, and during Elizabeths reign newly minted coins, including the testoon, had a much higher silver content and regained their pre-debasement value. Shillings were minted during the reign of every British monarch following Edward VI, the Royal Mint undertook a massive recoinage programme in 1816, with large quantities of gold and silver coin being minted. Previous issues of silver coinage had been irregular, and the last issue, minted in 1787, new silver coinage was to be of.925 standard, with silver coins to be minted at 66 shillings to the troy pound. Hence, newly minted shillings weighed 87.273 grains or 5.655 grams, the Royal Mint debased the silver coinage in 1920 from 92. 5% silver to 50% silver. Shillings of both alloys were minted that year and this debasement was done because of the rising price of silver around the world, and followed the global trend of the elimination, or the reducing in purity, of the silver in coinage. The minting of coinage of the pound sterling ceased completely in 1946 for similar reasons. New silver coinage was minted in cupronickel, an alloy of copper. Beginning with Lord Wrottesleys proposals in the 1820s there were attempts to decimalise the pound sterling over the next century. These attempts came to nothing significant until the 1960s when the need for a currency more suited to simple monetary calculations became pressing, the decision to decimalise was announced in 1966, with the pound to be redivided into 100, rather than 240, pence. Decimal Day was set for 15 February 1971, and a range of new coins were introduced
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Florin (British coin)
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The British two shilling coin, also known as the florin or two bob bit, was issued from 1849 until 1967. It was worth one tenth of a pound, or twenty-four old pence and it should not be confused with the medieval gold florin, which was nominally worth six shillings. In 1968, in the run-up to decimalisation, the two shilling coin was superseded by the ten pence coin, which had the same value and initially the same size. It continued in circulation, alongside the ten pence coin, until 1992, in 1847 a motion was introduced in Parliament calling for the introduction of a decimal currency and the striking of coins of one-tenth and one-hundredth of a pound. The motion was withdrawn on the understanding that a one-tenth pound coin would be produced to test public opinion. The first florins were struck in 1849 as silver coins weighing 11.3 grams and these first coins would have come as rather a shock to the public, as for the first time in nearly 200 years a British coin featured a portrait of the monarch wearing a crown. Even more of a shock, including to Queen Victoria herself, was the omission of D G – Dei Gratia – from the coins inscription, the inscription around the obverse read VICTORIA REGINA1849. The godless florin may have also been minted in 1850 and 1851 with the date 1849, in 1851, the florin was redesigned in a most unusual way. The diameter was increased to 30 millimetres, and all the lettering on the coin was in Gothic script, the date was rendered in Roman numerals. The inscription on the obverse read victoria d g britt reg f d mdcccli, the Gothic Florin was produced each year until 1887. The diameter was reduced to 29.5 millimetres, all the inscriptions were in Latin letters and Arabic numerals. The inscription on the obverse read VICTORIA DEI GRATIA, while the reverse read FID DEF BRITT REG date, the Jubilee Head issue was released each year between 1887 and 1892. The diameter was reduced again, to 28.5 millimetres and this issue was released each year between 1893 and 1901. Following British custom, when Queen Victoria died and her son ascended to the throne, the florin of King Edward VII was minted each year from 1902 to 1910. It remained at 11.3 grams weight and 28.5 millimetres diameter, Florins bearing his left-facing effigy were minted in each year of the reign of King George V except 1910 and 1934. The design of the reverse was similar to Queen Victorias Jubilee florin, after the end of George Vs reign, the word florin no longer appears on British coins. Throughout 1936, coins of all denominations continued to be using the designs of George V. King George VIs florins, produced each year between 1937 and 1951, look much like the one planned for his brother Edward VIII
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Half crown (British coin)
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The half crown was a denomination of British money, equivalent to two shillings and sixpence, or one-eighth of a pound. The half crown was first issued in 1549, in the reign of Edward VI. No half crowns were issued in the reign of Mary, but from the reign of Elizabeth I half crowns were issued in every reign except Edward VIII, the half crown was demonetised on 1 January 1970, the year before the United Kingdom adopted decimal currency on Decimal Day. During the English Interregnum of 1649–1660, a half crown was issued, bearing the arms of the Commonwealth of England. When Oliver Cromwell made himself Lord Protector of England, half crowns were issued bearing his semi-royal portrait, the half crown did not display its value on the reverse until 1893. King Henry VIII1526, the first English half crown was struck in gold, king Edward VI1551, issued the first half crown in silver. The coin was dated and showed the king riding a horse, Queen Mary I, the half crown was struck on Marys marriage to Philip II of Spain in 1554 but was never issued for circulation. Http, //www. petitioncrown. com/spare15_LK47. html Queen Elizabeth I, at the end of the reign silver half crowns were issued. King James I, gold crowns were issued again. During the reign silver half crowns were issued, king Charles I, silver half crowns were issued, including those struck as obsidional money, money of necessity during the Civil War period. Commonwealth of England, Oliver Cromwell silver half crowns were issued, during the years 1656 and 1658 milled half crowns were issued of Oliver Cromwell. King Charles II 1663–1685, silver half crowns were issued, king James II 1685–1688, silver half crown. King William III & Queen Mary II 1689–1694, silver half crown, William III of England 1694–1702, silver half crown. Queen Anne 1702–1714, silver half crown, king George I 1714–1727, silver half crown. King George II 1727–1760, silver half crown, king George III 1760–1820, silver half crown. King George IV 1820–1830, silver half crown, king William IV 1830–1837, silver half crown. Queen Victoria 1837–1901, silver half crown, king Edward VII 1902–1910, silver half crown. King George V 1910–1936, silver half crown, sterling silver until 1919, king Edward VIII1936, 50% silver half crown
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Double florin
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The double florin was one of the shortest-lived British coin denominations ever, only being produced during four mint years, between 1887 and 1890. The silver coin weighed 22.6 grams and was 36 millimetres in diameter, the coin was introduced as part of a short-lived attempt at decimalization of the currency, after an earlier attempt had spawned the florin. As with the sixpence, Shilling, and Florin the coin was not demonetized as part of the 1971 decimalization, unlike those coins it has not been subsequently called in, and it remains legal tender for 20 pence. The coins are not likely spent, though, as the content of each coin is worth far more than 20 pence. Some coins minted in 1887 had a Roman I instead of an Arabic 1 in the date and this went unnoticed for a time until corrected, allowing the balance of the mint run to be produced with the correct date. These two variations are worth approximately the same, making the more interesting for collectors. Some coins dated 1888 and 1889 have an inverted Arabic 1 instead of the second I in VICTORIA as the result of a broken punch, British coinage Four Shilling Coins on Coins of the UK Victoria Double Florin on CoinsGB
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Crown (British coin)
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The British crown, the successor to the English crown and the Scottish dollar, came into being with the Union of the kingdoms of England and Scotland in 1707. As with the English coin, its value was five shillings, in that format it has continued to be minted, even following decimalisation of the British currency in 1971. However, as the result of inflation the value of the coin was revised upwards in 1990 to five pounds, the kingdom of England also minted gold Crowns in the 16th and 17th centuries. The dies for all gold and silver coins of Queen Anne and King George I were engraved by John Croker, the British crown was always a large coin, and from the 19th century it did not circulate well. However, crowns were struck in a new monarchs coronation year, true of each monarch since King George IV up until the present monarch in 1953. The Queen Victoria Gothic crown of 1847 and produced to celebrate the Gothic revival) is considered by many to be the most beautiful British coin ever minted. The King George V wreath crowns struck from 1927 through 1936 depict a wreath on the reverse of the coin and were struck in very low numbers. Generally struck late in the year and intended to be purchased as Christmas gifts, they did not circulate well, with the rarest of all dates,1934, the 1927 wreath crowns were struck as proofs only. With its large size, many of the coins were primarily commemoratives. The 1951 issue was for the Festival of Britain, and was struck in proof condition. The 1965 issue carried the image of Winston Churchill on the reverse, the first time a non-monarch or commoner was ever placed on a British coin, production of the Churchill Crown began on 11 October 1965, and stopped in the summer of 1966. The crown was worth five shillings until decimalisation in February 1971, the last five shilling piece was minted in 1965. The crown coin was nicknamed the dollar, but is not to be confused with the British trade dollar that circulated in the Orient, in 2014, a new world record price was achieved for a milled silver crown. The coin was issued as a pattern by engraver Thomas Simon in 1663 and this was presented to Charles II as the new crown piece but was ultimately rejected in favour of the Roettiers Brothers design. Auctioneers Spink & Son of London sold the coin on 27 March 2014 for £396,000 including commission, after decimalisation on 15 February 1971, a new coin known as a 25p piece was introduced. All of these issues were struck in large mintages, in cases, and in cupro-nickel. The legal tender value of the crown remained as five shillings from 1544 to 1965, however, for most of this period there was no denominational designation or face value mark of value displayed on the coin. From 1927 to 1939, the word CROWN appears, and from 1951 to 1960 this was changed to FIVE SHILLINGS
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Half sovereign
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The half sovereign is an English and British gold coin with a face value half that of a sovereign, equivalent to half a pound sterling, ten shillings, or 120 old pence. Since the end of the standard, it has been issued only in limited quantities as a commemorative coin with a sale price. The main reason for this is because they are used, along with coins of this type as bullion coins. The half sovereign was first introduced in 1544 under Henry VIII, after 1604, the issue of half sovereigns, along with gold sovereigns, was discontinued until 1817, following a major revision of British coinage. Production continued until 1926 and, apart from special issues for years, was not restarted until 1980. It was also used extensively in Australia, until 1933. Modern half sovereigns, from 1817 onwards, have a diameter of 19.30 mm, a thickness of ~0.99 mm, a weight of 3.99 g, are made of 22 carat crown gold alloy, and contain 0.1176 troy ounces of gold. The reverse side, featuring St. George slaying a dragon was designed by Benedetto Pistrucci, the half sovereign is a protected coin for the purposes of Part II of the Forgery and Counterfeiting Act 1981. British Coins - Free information about British coins, online Coin Club / Coins from United Kingdom / Half Sovereign
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Half guinea
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The half guinea gold coin of the Kingdom of England and later of Great Britain was first produced in 1669, some years after the Guinea entered circulation. It was officially eliminated in the Great Recoinage of 1816, although, like the guinea, the value of the guinea had fluctuated over the years from twenty to thirty shillings, and back down to twenty one shillings and sixpence by the start of Georges reign. A Royal Proclamation of December 1717 fixed the value of the guinea at twenty one shillings. The value of the guinea was thus fixed at ten shillings and sixpence, or 10/6. The coin weighed 4.2 grams and was 20 millimetres in diameter, the obverse and reverse of this coin were designed by John Roettier. John Roettier continued to design the dies for this denomination in the reign of King James II, in this reign, the coins were of the same dimensions as before, and were minted in 1686-1688. The elephant and castle mark was used on some coins in 1686. The edge of the coins are milled diagonally, with the removal of James II in the Glorious Revolution of 1688, his daughter Mary, and her husband Prince William of Orange ruled jointly by agreement as co-monarchs. Their heads appear conjoined on the piece in Roman style, with Williams head uppermost. By the early part of this reign the value of the guinea had increased to thirty shillings. The half guineas of this reign weighed 4.2 grams, were 20 millimetres in diameter, half guineas were produced in all years between 1689 and 1694 with the elephant and castle appearing in 1691 and 1692. Following the death of Queen Mary from smallpox in 1694, William continued to reign as William III, the coins of William IIIs reign weighed 4.2 grams with a diameter of 20 millimetres. The coin had a diagonal milled edge, the reign of Queen Anne produced pre-Union half guineas in 1702,1703, and 1705. The 1703 half guinea bears the word VIGO under the Queens bust, with the Union of England and Scotland the design of the reverse of the half guinea was changed. The centre of the design shows Star of the Order of the Garter. The coins weighed 4.2 grams, were 20 millimetres in diameter, the edge of the coin is milled diagonally. The dies for all half-guineas of Queen Anne and King George I were engraved by John Croker, King George Is half guinea coins were struck between 1715 and 1727 except 1716, with the elephant and castle sometimes appearing in 1721. The coins weighed 4.2 grams, were 20 millimetres in diameter, the coins were produced in all years of the reign except 1735,1741,1742,1744,1754, and 1757
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Sovereign (British coin)
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The sovereign is a gold coin of the United Kingdom, with a nominal value of one pound sterling. Prior to 1932 it was a circulating coin within Britains then Gold Standard currency. Today it is used as a coin and is sometimes mounted in jewellery. Named after the English gold sovereign, last minted in 1604, minting these new sovereigns began in 1817. The gold content was fixed by the act of 1816 at 1320/5607 troy ounces. This weight has remained almost constant — rounding at 10−6 g took place on its legal redefinition in the rather than fractional system of coin weights. Sovereigns have been minted in the United Kingdom from 1817 to 1917, in 1925, in the past Australia, Canada, and South Africa all occasionally minted the coins. Today, they are minted at the Royal Mint in Llantrisant, Wales, in addition to the sovereign, the Royal Mint also struck ten-shilling half sovereigns, two-pound double sovereigns, and five-pound quintuple sovereign coins. Only the sovereign and the sovereign were commonly struck for circulation. In 2009, The Royal Mint released a new coin in the sovereign series and this was succeeded by a portrayal of Saint George killing a dragon, engraved by Benedetto Pistrucci. In Victorian times it was the practice of the Bank of England to remove worn sovereigns and half sovereigns from circulation, consequently, although a billion sovereigns have been minted in total, that figure includes gold that has been coined and recoined a number of times. When gold coins were withdrawn from circulation in 1933 in the US. It was actually the half-sovereign that had the most circulation in Victorian Britain, many sovereigns languished in bank vaults for most of their lives. In 1889 and 1890 Orders in Council were made permitting members of the public to hand in any gold coins that were underweight and have them replaced by full-weight coins. A proclamation was issued in November 1890 that any gold coin struck before 1837 would cease to be legal tender with effect from 28 February 1891. This recycled gold was subsequently reminted into 13,680,486 half sovereigns in 1892 and 10,846,741 sovereigns in 1900, Sovereign obverse dies were also used in the nineteenth century to create farthings once they had become worn. Sovereigns were produced in large quantities until World War I, at time the UK came off the gold standard. From then until 1932, sovereigns were produced only at branch mints at Melbourne, Sydney, Perth, Bombay, Ottawa, the last regular issue was in 1932
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Guinea (coin)
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The guinea was a coin of approximately one quarter ounce of gold that was minted in Great Britain between 1663 and 1814. From 1717 to 1816, its value was fixed at twenty-one shillings. Then, Britain adopted the standard and guinea became a colloquial or specialised term. The name came from the Guinea region in West Africa, where much of the used to make the coins originated. The name also forms the basis for the Arabic word for the Egyptian pound الجنيه el-Genēh / el-Geni, the first guinea was produced on 6 February 1663, a proclamation of 27 March 1663 made the coins legal currency. One troy pound of 11/12 fine gold would make 44½ guineas, the denomination was originally worth one pound, or twenty shillings, but an increase in the price of gold during the reign of King Charles II led to the market trading it at a premium. The price of gold continued to increase, especially in times of trouble, and by the 1680s, indeed, in his diary entries for 13 June 1667, Samuel Pepys records that the price was 24 to 25 shillings. The diameter of the coin was 1 inch throughout Charles IIs reign, Guinea was not an official name for the coin, but much of the gold used to produce the early coins came from Guinea in Africa. The coin was produced each year between 1663 and 1684, with the elephant appearing on some coins each year from 1663 to 1665 and 1668, and the elephant and castle on some coins from 1674 onward. The elephant, with or without the castle, symbolises the Royal African Company, the obverse and reverse of this coin were designed by John Roettier. The edge was milled to deter clipping or filing, and to distinguish it from the silver half-crown which had edge lettering, until 1669 the milling was perpendicular to the edge, giving vertical grooves, while from 1670 the milling was diagonal to the edge. John Roettier continued to design the dies for this denomination in the reign of King James II. In this reign, the coins weighed 8.5 g with a diameter of 25–26 mm, Coins of each year were issued both with and without the elephant and castle mark. The edge of the coins are milled diagonally, with the removal of James II in the Glorious Revolution of 1688, his daughter Mary, and her husband Prince William of Orange ruled jointly by agreement as co-monarchs. Their heads appear conjoined on the piece in Roman style, with Williams head uppermost. By the early part of this reign the value of the guinea had increased to thirty shillings. The guineas of this reign weighed 8, following the death of Queen Mary from smallpox in 1694, William continued to reign as William III. The coins of William IIIs reign weighed 8.4 g with a gold purity of 0.9123
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Two guineas (British coin)
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The term guinea indicates the source of the gold used to strike the coin, i. e. from west Africa. For most of its period of production the coin weighed 16.7 -16.8 grams and was 31-32 millimetres in diameter, although the coins of Charles II were about 0.1 grams lighter and 1 millimetre smaller. Many of the coins produced up to 1694 have an elephant and/or castle beneath the monarchs head, indicating that the gold was provided by the Royal African Company. The two guinea coin was produced in 1664,1665,1669,1671, and 1675-1684 inclusive, until 1669 the weight limits were 16. 6-16.8 grams, the obverse and reverse of this coin were designed by John Roettier. John Roettier continued to design the dies for this denomination in the reign of King James II, in this reign, the coins weighed 16.7 grams, and were only minted in 1687 and 1688. By the early part of this reign the value of the guinea had increased to thirty shillings. The edge of the coins are milled diagonally, with the removal of James II in the Glorious Revolution of 1688, his daughter Mary, and her husband Prince William of Orange ruled jointly by agreement as co-monarchs. Their heads appear conjoined on the two guinea piece in Roman style, with Williams head uppermost, with the legend GVLIELMVS ET MARIA DEI GRATIA, the weight tolerance of the coin in this reign was 16. 7-16.8 grams. The two guinea coin of this reign was probably the work of James and/or Norbert Roettier and, apart from an issue in 1691. Following the death of Queen Mary from smallpox in 1694, William continued to reign as William III, the Two guinea coin was only produced in 1701, the design probably being the work of Johann Crocker a. k. a. John Croker, since James Roettier had died in 1698 and his brother Norbert had moved to France in 1695, the coins of William IIIs reign weighed 16.7 grams. The coin had a diagonal milled edge, the reign of Queen Anne did not produce any two guinea coins until after the Union of England and Scotland, the coins being produced in 1709,1711,1713 and 1714. The obverse of the coin throughout her reign shows the effigy of the queen. The centre of the design shows Star of the Order of the Garter. The edge of the coin is milled diagonally, george Is two guinea coins were only struck in 1717,1720, and 1726, and they bear his abbreviated Hanoverian titles in addition to the usual British, French, and Irish title. The obverse bears a portrait of the king with the legend GEORGIVS D G M BR FR ET HIB REX F D. The edge of the coin is milled diagonally, and the coins of this reign weighed 16.8 grams, the value of the guinea had fluctuated over the years from twenty to thirty shillings, and back down to twentyone shillings and sixpence by the start of Georges reign. A Royal Proclamation of December 1717 fixed the value of the guinea at twenty one shillings, george IIs two guinea pieces mark the last of the denomination
