oduction and distribution
- 2.2 Coins in circulation
- 2.3 Dimensions
- 2.4 UK decimal coinage history
- 2.5 Summary of denominations
- 2.6 Specifications
- 2.7 UK designs
- 2.8 Non-UK coinage
- 3 Non-circulating coins
- 4 Pre-decimal coinage
- 5 Minting errors reaching circulation
- 6 Titles
- 7 Mottos
- 8 See also
- 9 References
- 10 External links
The history of the Royal Mint stretches back to AD 886. For many centuries production took place in London, initially at the Tower of London, and then at premises nearby in Tower Hill. In the 1970s production was transferred to Llantrisant in South Wales. Historically Scotland and England had separate coinage; the last Scottish coins were struck in 1709 shortly after union with England.
Coins were originally hand-hammered — an ancient technique in which two dies are struck together with a blank coin between them. This was the traditional method of manufacturing coins in the Western world from the classical Greek era onwards, in comparison with Asia, where coins were traditionally cast. The first milled (that is, machine-made) coins were produced during the reign of Elizabeth I (1558–1603) and periodically during the subsequent reigns of James I and Charles I, but there was initially opposition to mechanisation from the moneyers who ensured that most coins continued to be produced by hammering. All British coins produced since 1662 have been milled.
Origins of the penny
The English penny first appeared in Anglo-Saxon times, as a silver coin. It was derived from another silver coin, the sceat, of 20 troy grains weight, which was in general circulation in Europe during the Middle Ages. The weight of the English penny was fixed at 22.5 troy grains (about 1.46 grams) by Offa of Mercia, an 8th-century contemporary of Charlemagne. The coin's designated value, however, was that of 24 troy grains of silver (one pennyweight, or 1⁄240 of a troy pound, or about 1.56 grams), with the difference being a premium attached by virtue of the minting into coins. Thus 240 pennyweights made one troy pound of silver in weight, and the monetary value of 240 pennies also became known as a "pound". (240 actual pennies, however, weighed only 5400 troy grains, known as tower pound, a unit used only by mints. The tower pound was abolished in the 16th century.) The silver penny remained the primary unit of coinage for about 500 years.
Over the years, the penny was gradually debased until by the 16th century it contained about a third the silver content of a proper troy 24 grain pennyweight.
By 1915, a penny was worth around 1/6 what it had been worth during the Middle Ages. British government sources suggest that prices have risen over 61-fold since 1914, so a medieval sterling silver penny might have had purchasing power equivalent to £4.50 today, and a farthing (a quarter penny) would have the value of slightly more than today's pound (about £1.125).
From the time of Charlemagne until the 12th century, the silver currency of England was made from the highest purity silver available. Unfortunately there were drawbacks to minting currency of fine silver, notably the level of wear it suffered, and the ease with which coins could be "clipped", or trimmed, by those dealing in the currency.
In the 12th century a new standard for English coinage was established by Henry II — the Sterling Silver standard of 92.5% silver and 7.5% copper. This was a harder-wearing alloy, yet it was still a rather high grade of silver. It went some way towards discouraging the practice of "clipping", though this practice was further discouraged and largely eliminated with the introduction of the milled edge we see on coins today.
During the reign of Henry VIII, the silver content was gradually debased, reaching a low of 1/3 silver. However, in Edward VI's reign, silver purity was increased to sterling again and the first crowns and half crowns were produced dated 1551. From this point onwards till 1920, sterling was the rule.
By 1696, the currency had been seriously weakened by an increase in clipping during the Nine Years' War t