The coinage of King George III is rather strange, it is broken up into two sections, before the Currency Reform Act and after the Currency Reform Act. This Act was passed because of the shortage of coins, which the King because of his illness refused to allow to be made. So what did they do, after the Currency Reform Act of 1816 they struck Silver coins but did not bother to strike copper coins…! So the last design of King George III Halfpennies was issued in 1806 and 1807. It has the King’s bust with lauriate wreath on one side and a seated Britannia on the other side. These are the last George III Halfpences ever to be struck and they were struck in copper. In Very Good condition, which means that they have seen considerable wear
Most people associate 1912 with the sinking of the unsinkable ship The Titanic but, as numismatists, we think of it as the year the Royal Mint couldn’t produce all the Pennies they needed and had to get an outside firm to help them. That firm was the Heaton Mint Ltd. in Birmingham. So if you look at a 1912 Penny to the left of the date and slightly upward you may well see an ‘H’ mintmark. This was the mintmark for the Heaton Mint. We have made up this pair of 1912 and 1912 H Pennies in a plastic flip-type envelope, so you can see both pennies at the same time. The coins are in selected circulated condition which, considering that they are now 110 years old, is quite good condition. Show them to your friends and ask if they can spot the difference. If they can’t, then you can show them the ‘H’ and explain what else happened.