| Value | +1⁄240 pound sterling |
|---|---|
| Mass | (Bronze) 9.4 g |
| Diameter | (Bronze) 31 mm |
| Edge | Plain |
| Composition | (c. 765–1796) Silver (1797–1859) Copper (1860–1970) Bronze |
| Years of minting | c. 765–1970 |
| Obverse | |
 | |
| Design | Various (Elizabeth II design shown) |
| Designer | Mary Gillick |
| Design date | 1953 |
| Reverse | |
 | |
| Design | Various (Britannia design shown) |
| Designer | Leonard Charles Wyon |
| Design date | 1860 |
The pre-decimal penny (1d) is a coin which was worth one two-hundred-and-fortieth of a pound sterling prior to decimalisation in 1971. It was replaced by the new penny which is worth one one-hundredth of a pound sterling. The pre-decimal penny, also known after decimalisation as the old penny had the symbol d, from the Roman denarius.
The penny was first minted by the Kentish king Heaberht in 765, in imitation of the Frankish denier, and was popularised in the reign of Offa of Mercia. Pennies were minted throughout the Anglo-Saxon period by various kings and local leaders before the coinage was made uniform during the reign of Edgar the Peaceful in the tenth century. Edgar's reformed coinage featuring a portrait of the monarch on the obverse and a cruciform pattern on the reverse became the model for pennies minted up until after the Norman conquest. From the twelfth-century onwards the purity of silver required for pennies was set at 92.5%, i.e. sterling silver. Henry VIII's reign saw the Great Debasement wherein the silver purity of new coins dropped as low as 33%, however measures taken by his successors saw the elimination of this debased coinage and a return to sterling silver. The old process of hammering which was used to produce coins was replaced by milling in Charles II's reign, a process which used machines and resulted in high-quality coins of uniform size and thickness.
History edit
Anglo-Saxon Period edit
Coins were first minted in Anglo-Saxon England in the late sixth-century, originally in gold, and then from 675 onwards increasingly in silver.[1] The first true English pennies were produced at the Canterbury mint in 765 on the order of King Heaberht of Kent, in imitation of the coin known as the denier produced in Paris by the Frankish king Pepin the Short. The penny was made in silver, and it was broader and thinner than its predecessor, the sceat, and could feature more detailed designs without damage. The quality of these early English pennies was soon significantly higher than contemporary European coins, and after Offa of Mercia conquered the Kingdom of Kent in 785 he put the Kentish moneyers Eoba, Babba and Udd, who had produced the first pennies, to work making these coins for him.[2] The fame of the penny soon spread throughout northern Europe, and it became the model for the coinage of several countries, including Poland, Denmark, Sweden and Norway.[3]
 
| |
| Silver penny of Edgar the Peaceful |
The first pennies weighed about 20 grains, and during the reign of Alfred the Great, they were increased to 24 grains (i.e. a pennyweight). The penny continued to be minted by Anglo-Saxon kings throughout the ninth century and, with a few notable exceptions, was the sole denomination of English coin produced for almost 500 years.[nb 1] Issuers of pennies included the rulers of the Heptarchy (Kent, Mercia, East Anglia and Wessex), the kings of Viking Northumbria, and the Archbishops of Canterbury. It took until the reign of Edgar the Peaceful, king of all England, for a uniform coinage to be instituted. Edgar's 'reformed' coinage was a model for all subsequent Anglo-Saxon pennies as well as those minted in the Norman period.[5]
Norman, Plantagenet and Tudor Periods edit
A reform of the coinage was undertaken in 1279 during the reign of Edward I, with groats, halfpennies and farthings being minted for the first time.[6] This recoinage was one of several in the period which saw vast numbers of poor quality coins melted down and millions of high-quality sterling silver pennies minted.[nb 2] However, such was the demand in continental Europe for high quality pennies that the export of these new coins led to a shortage in England and in 1283 King Edward was forced to ban their removal from the country.[8] Sterling silver pennies continued to be minted during the reigns of Edward II and Edward III, but during the latter's rulership in 1344 they were reduced to a weight of around 20 grains, and then in 1351 to 18 grains.[9] The weight of the penny was again reduced in 1412 to 15 grains, in part due to Henry IV's money troubles and in part because of a lack of bullion.[10] In an effort to alleviate the paucity of silver available to the mint the weight was further decreased in 1464 to 12 grains.[11]
The penny remained at 12 grains for the next hundred years, but in order to finance the wars of Henry VIII the silver in new coinage was continually debased from 1544 onwards, reaching 4 ounces and 2 pennyweights of silver per Troy pound by 1546, a purity of around 33%. These poor grade coins had a habit of revealing the copper alloy beneath the silver veneer when worn, thus earning Henry VIII the nickname 'Old Coppernose'.[12] Silver purity reached an all-time low during the reign of Edward VI when in 1551 pennies with a purity of 3 ounces and 2 pennyweights of silver per Troy pound were minted. The Great Debasement, as this period of continual reduction in the purity of silver for coinage is known, came to an end in 1551 when an issue of silver coins of approximately sterling standard was produced, although the weight of the penny was reduced to 8 grains.[13] During Elizabeth I's reign it was decided to try to retire the debased coinage and replace it with coins of a metal content corresponding to their face value. Debased pennies circulated at half their usual value and new pennies were minted at 91.6% or 92.5% (sterling) purity. Milled coinage (i.e. coins made by machines rather than hammered by hand) was introduced to England by the French moneyer Eloy Mestrelle during Elizabeth's reign, but it took until the 1630s for pennies to be milled for the first time.[14]
Stuart, Commonwealth, and Georgian Periods edit
Silver pennies continued to be minted during the reigns of subsequent monarchs and during the Commonwealth at sterling standard. From the reign of Charles II onwards the old hammering process used to mint coins was phased out and all new pennies were machine milled.[15] The Great Recoinage of 1696 saw the removal of much of the old, worn hammered coinage from circulation to be replaced by new milled coins.[16] The kingdoms of England and Scotland were merged by the 1707 Act of Union to form the Kingdom of Great Britain. The exchange rate between the pound scots and the English pound sterling had been fixed at 12:1 since the Union of the Crowns in 1603, and in 1707 the pound scots ceased to be legal tender, with the pound sterling to be used throughout Great Britain. The penny replaced the shilling of the pound scots.[17]
By the reign of George II only a small amount of silver coinage was being struck, and this continued into the reign of George III.[18] By the latter's reign there was a shortage of pennies and a great many merchants and mining companies issued their own copper tokens in an attempt to alleviate this paucity of coinage. As an example, the Parys Mining Company on Anglesey issued huge numbers of tokens (although their acceptability was strictly limited).[19] 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 face value of a coin should correspond to the value of the material it was made from, so they had to actually contain one or two pence worth of copper (for a penny this worked out to be one ounce of copper). This requirement meant that the coins would be significantly larger than the silver pennies minted previously. The large size of the coins, combined with the thick rim where the inscription was incused, i.e. punched into the metal rather than standing proud of it, led to the coins being nicknamed cartwheels. These pennies were minted over the course of several years but all are marked with the date 1797.[20]
By 1802, the production of privately issued provincial tokens had ceased.[21] 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, as more and more of the Government issued copper coinage was melted down for trade. 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.[22] Copper coins continued to be minted after 1797, through the reigns of George III, George IV, William IV, and the early reign of Queen Victoria. These later coins were smaller than the cartwheel pennies of 1797, and contained a smaller amount of copper.[20]
Victorian Era edit
In 1857 a survey by the Royal Mint found that around one third of all copper coinage was worn or mutilated, often by advertisements. A couple of years later Thomas Graham, the master of the mint, convinced William Ewart Gladstone, then Chancellor of the Exchequer, that so large a part of the copper coinage must be taken out of circulation that it was worth introducing a whole new coinage which would be "much more convenient and agreeable in use".[23] These new coins were minted in bronze, and their specifications were no longer compelled by the onerous requirement that their face value should match the value of the base metal used to make the coin. These new coins were introduced in 1860 and a year later the withdrawal of the old copper coinage began.[23]
History 2 edit
The specifications of the bronze version of the penny were a mass of 9.45 g and a diameter of 30.86 mm, [CITATION NEEDED] and remained as such for over a hundred years. Pennies were minted every year of Queen Victoria's reign, and every year of Edward VII's reign. George V pennies were produced every year to the same standard until 1922, but after a three-year gap in production the alloy composition was changed to 95.5% copper, 3% tin, and 1.5% zinc, although the weight and size remained unchanged (which was necessary because of the existence by then of large numbers of coin-operated amusement machines and public telephones). Thereafter, pennies were minted every year for the remainder of George V's reign, although only six or seven 1933 coins were minted, specifically for the king to lay under the foundation stones of new buildings; one of these coins was stolen when a church in Leeds was demolished in the 1960s, and its whereabouts is currently unknown.[24]
A few pennies of Edward VIII exist, dated 1937, but technically they are pattern coins i.e. coins produced for official approval which it would probably have been due to receive about the time that the King abdicated.[25]
Pennies were not minted every year of George VI's reign. Pennies minted in 1950 and 1951 were for overseas use only. One 1952 penny believed to be unique was struck by the Royal Mint. The worldwide shortage of tin during the Second World War caused a change in the alloy in 1944 to 97% copper, 0.5% tin, 2.5% zinc, but this bronze tarnishes unattractively, and the original 95.5% Cu, 3% Sn, 1.5% Zn alloy was restored later in 1945.
Because of the large number of pennies in circulation there was no need to produce any more in the 1950s, however a large number of specimen sets were issued in 1953 for Elizabeth II's Coronation. At least one 1954 penny was struck, apparently for private internal purposes at the Royal Mint, but it was not until 1961 that there was a need for more pennies to be minted, and production continued each year until 1967, and after (as pennies continued to be minted with the date 1967 until 1970). The 97% copper, 0.5% tin, 2.5% zinc alloy was used again for the 1960s pennies. Finally, there was an issue of proof quality coins dated 1970 produced to bid farewell to the denomination.
Design edit
As a consequence of the centralization of minting the addition of the moneyer's name to the coins he created was abandoned during the reign of Edward I.[6]
Notes edit
- ^ Northumbria did not switch to producing pennies but instead persisted in producing silver sceattas and copper stycas until its occupation by Vikings in 867.[4]
- ^ Sterling silver was the required alloy for the minting of silver coins from at least the reign of Henry II. It was first defined legally in the reign of Edward I as 17+3⁄4 pennyweights of alloy for every 11 ounces 2+1⁄4 pennyweights of silver, with 20 pennyweights to the Troy ounce.[7]
References edit
Citations edit
- ^ Davies, pp. 118–122
- ^ Davies, pp. 124–125
- ^ Craig, p. 7
- ^ Davies, p. 125; Spink, p. 101
- ^ Spink, p. 106
- ^ a b Spink, p. 170
- ^ Accounts and Papers of the House of Commons: 1866. Vol. Second. House of Commons. 23 March 1866. pp. 14–15. OCLC 11900114.
- ^ Platt, p. 94
- ^ Spink, p. 178
- ^ Spink, p. 193
- ^ Spink, p. 209
- ^ Spink, p. 230
- ^ Chown, p. 52
- ^ Spink, pp. 255, 293
- ^ Spink, p. 334
- ^ Spink, p. 366
- ^ "The Pound Scots". Scottish Archive Network. Retrieved 1 April 2016.
- ^ Spink, pp. 403, 415
- ^ Selgin, p. xvi
- ^ a b "The cartwheel penny and twopence of 1797". Royal Mint Museum. Retrieved 15 May 2014.
- ^ Pye, p. 4; Hocking, pp. 327–343
- ^ Hocking, pp. 327–343
- ^ a b Challis, pp. 509–510
- ^ "1933 penny". Royal Mint Museum. Retrieved 18 May 2014.
- ^ "Edward VIII". Royal Mint Museum. Retrieved 18 May 2014.
Sources edit
- Challis, Christopher Edgar (1992). A New History of the Royal Mint. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-24026-0.
- Chown, John F (2 August 2004). A History of Money: From AD 800. Routledge. ISBN 978-1-134-77578-1.
- Craig, John (1953). The Mint: A history of the London Mint from A.D. 287 to 1948. Cambridge University Press.
- Davies, Glyn (1 September 2010). History of Money. University of Wales Press. ISBN 978-0-7083-2379-3.
- Hocking, William John (1906). Catalogue of the Coins, Tokens, Medals, Dies, and Seals in the Museum of the Royal Mint. London: Darling & Son Ltd.
- Platt, Colin (1994). Medieval England: A Social History and Archaeology from the Conquest to 1600 AD. Psychology Press. ISBN 978-0-415-12913-8.
- Pye, Charles (1801). A Correct and Complete Representation of All the Provincial Copper Coins, Tokens of Trade, and Cards of Address, on Copper: Which Were Circulated as Such Between the Years 1787 and 1801 (Second ed.). Birmingham: M. Young.
- Selgin, George A. (2008). Good Money: Birmingham Button Makers, the Royal Mint, and the Beginnings of Modern Coinage, 1775-1821. University of Michigan Press. ISBN 0-472-11631-2.
- Skingley, Philip, ed. (2014). Coins of England & the United Kingdom: Standard Catalogue of British Coins 2015. Spink & Sons Ltd. ISBN 978-1-907427-43-5.