History of the British penny (1714–1901)
All bear the portrait of the monarch on the obverse; copper and bronze pennies have a depiction of Britannia, the female personification of Britain, on the reverse.
During most of the 18th century, the penny was a small silver coin rarely seen in circulation, and that was principally struck to be used for Maundy money or other royal charity.
Beginning in 1787, the chronic shortage of good money resulted in the wide circulation of private tokens, including large coppers valued at one penny.
By the late 1850s, the state of the copper coinage was deemed unsatisfactory, with quantities of worn oversized pieces, some dating from Boulton's day, still circulating.
Nevertheless, so little was sent overall that MP John Conduitt, Newton's successor as Master, wrote in 1730 that since December 1701, "no silver has been imported to the Mint but what was forced thither".
George's pennies had the inscription GEORGIVS DEI GRA continuing onto the other side with MAG BR FR ET HIB REX[a] and the date, around the crowned "I".
The representation of George was by John Croker or his assistant Samuel Bull; they had designed the busts of William III and of Queen Anne that had appeared on earlier pennies.
When other regal coins began use of a bust showing George II as an older man in 1740–1743, the penny remained unaltered.
Brian Robinson, in his book on the Royal Maundy, suggested that a new bust for a coin issued only in small quantities would not have been worth the 12 weeks' work it would have taken a Mint engraver to create new dies.
No pennies were issued dated 1733 or 1744, likely because the year in Britain still began on 25 March, and Maundy Thursday did not occur during those twelve-month periods.
George III's first reverse, used until 1780, showed the crowned "I" in high relief, with the inscription MAG BRI FR ET HIB REX.
[d] A modification was made in 1781, with the relief of the central "I" on the reverse lowered, likely because part of the outline of the I had been visible on the King's head on the other side of the coin.
[7] With little silver coined in the second half of the 18th century, the burden of small change fell on the copper coinage, of which the highest denomination before 1797 was the halfpenny.
Areas of the country not near the capital were sometimes short of coppers, since new issues could only be purchased at the Mint's office at the Tower of London, in packets of 5 or 10 shillings.
[14] Although Britannia had long appeared on the halfpenny and farthing, the 1797 coinage was the first time she was depicted ruling the waves, an allegory for Britain's status as a maritime power.
The 1,250 tonnes of "cartwheels" struck at Soho between 1797 and 1799 (all pieces were dated 1797) exceeded the total copper coinage by the Royal Mint in the 18th century.
[19] At the beginning of the Great Recoinage of 1816, only gold and silver coins were produced; the Chancellor of the Exchequer, Nicholas Vansittart, deemed there to be enough official coppers in commerce to serve.
King William's head faces right, with the obverse inscribed GULIELMUS IIII DEI GRATIA,[i] while the reverse is identical to the George IV penny.
It had a reverse largely unchanged from King William's but for changing an X to a G, thus REX became REG, short for Regina (queen), denoting the fact that the monarch was now a woman.
[26][27] These contracts were because of the needs of Ireland (where counterfeits and tokens were common) and the colonies; the large quantities struck between 1797 and 1807 by Boulton ensured there were no shortages in England, Scotland and Wales.
The copper coins were so heavy that Charles Dickens in Nicholas Nickleby had Mr Mantalini contemplate suicide by drowning himself in the Thames, his pockets filled with halfpennies.
[29][30] Thomas Graham, the Master of the Mint, in 1859 persuaded William Gladstone, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, that the state of the copper currency demanded a lighter, more durable replacement.
[30] The act required that Britannia appear on the coin, as the design was felt to symbolise Britain as ruler of the waves, and to omit her would be seen as abandoning that role.
Both the Queen and Prince Albert took a keen interest in the work, and repeated visits by Wyon to Buckingham Palace and Osborne House were necessary before Victoria gave her approval.
[37] The new bronze pieces were made current by a proclamation dated 17 December 1860,[38][39] and public reaction was positive, both for Wyon's designs and for the weight, which had been halved.
[36] The new coins were widely distributed through post offices, and in 1861, the Mint began the recall of the old copper pieces, paying a small premium and for the transport.
[46] The 2017 edition of Spink & Son's Coins of England & the United Kingdom chronicles 13 obverses, 14 reverses and a large number of die combinations.
[48] When production at the Royal Mint was stopped for a complete reconstruction in 1882, Heaton's, pursuant to contract, produced 50 tonnes of pennies, halfpennies and farthings.
