George III 1760 - 1820

In 1816 there was the Currency Reform Act, which allowed coins to be struck even without the Monarch’s permission. This was put into place because of King George III’s illness and the shortage of small change. From 1816 on, new designs, new weights new everything. These are the first of the new Sterling Silver Sixpences issued from 1816-1820. You have the bullhead of the King on one side and a crowned shield on the other side. Even in this grade supplies are limited.

These George III Sterling Silver 1787 Sixpences were only struck for circulation for just one year, 1787. What is even more interesting is that they were struck for the Bank of England to give out to their favoured clients around Christmas. You have King George III in an armoured bust on the obverse and four crowns and four shields on the reverse. Today the Royal Mint is charging £95 in Fine. The reverse in some ways is even more interesting than the obverse. As you have the arms of England, Ireland, Scotland, Hanover and France. The coins on offer are very high grade and becoming very difficult to find these days. They are available in Extremely Fine. Remember that this coin is now over 230 years old and in very high quality.

Most will know about the illness of King George III, but most don’t know that because of that illness the King would not allow a law to make smaller coins to be passed. This of course caused a lot of problems with day-to-day commerce; there just were not enough small coins around to make change. There are only two silver coins struck before the Currency Reform Act of 1816, that are readily available to collectors: the George III Sixpence and the Shilling of 1787. There is a simple but almost unbelievable reason for this. These coins were struck at the Royal Mint from silver delivered from the Bank of England. The Bank decided that they would need some new shiny coins to give out to their clients at Christmas. So only the Bank of England had these silver coins, and they only handed them out during the Christmas period, and only to their wealthy clients. So now you have the whole history! You have King George III dressed in what looks like Roman armour, and on the reverse the arms of Hanover and France as well as England, Scotland, and Ireland. Back in 1787, you had to be somehow important to have one of these Sixpences, important enough to do business directly with the Bank of England, and someone they wanted to treat. We have selected some very high-quality examples of this beautiful and very important historical coin for your collection.

Before the Currency Reform Act of 1816 it was almost impossible to find a sixpence or shilling to use. Yes they did make a couple of dates but they are very expensive and very difficult to find. So these 1787 Sixpence are the only coins that you can find for your collection. They are struck in Sterling Silver. George III is dressed as a Roman Emperor on this coin, which look exactly the same except for their size difference. The reverses show the coat of arms of England, Ireland, France and Scotland. This Sixpence is far more important and difficult to get than most collectors realise. It was actually struck for the Bank of England to give out to their good customers at Christmas. Add one to your collection while you can… They were also used in Australia and are known there as Proclamation coins.

The 1787 sixpences issued by the Bank of England were special coins struck as part of a broader initiative to provide smaller silver currency during a time of coin shortages. These coins featured the portrait of King George III on the obverse and a crowned shield of arms on the reverse. Unlike earlier sixpences, these were not produced for general circulation but were primarily intended as presentation pieces, sometimes given as gifts or keepsakes. They are notable for their fine craftsmanship. By 1787, coin production had already moved to the nearby Royal Mint, which was then located at the Tower Hill site in London. Some of the 1787 sixpences were taken to Australia, as British currency was used in the early colonial period. When the First Fleet arrived in Australia in 1788, there was a shortage of official currency, so various British coins, including these sixpences, circulated alongside foreign currency and barter systems. The 1787 sixpence would have been among the coins used by early settlers and convicts

When the first convicts were sent to Australia, these George III Silver threepences of 1762 and 1763 were on board. They are highly collected in Australia as one of the first coins to come to that country. We have a small group of choice examples in Uncirculated condition. Of course most of the coins were carried by the guards, but no doubt some of the convicts had money too. These are beautiful coins with an important history to Australia and they are now almost 260 years old. These are much nice than you would usually see the 1762 and 1763 George III silver threepences. Get them while you can…

How Do You Know it is a Twopence? We were asked this question the other day and the simple answer is, if it weighs two ounces then it is Twopence, if it weighs an ounce then it is a Penny. These coins were only issued for one year: 1797. The public hated them because they weighed so much. This was one of the first coins to be struck under steam pressure on a Boulton and Watt's steam press. Because they are pure copper they nick and scratch very easily. You have the bust of King George III on one side and a seated Britannia on the other side. This product is offered in Fine condition. We give you the best example that we have in stock, but due to the softness of the metal there will be some dings. A great talking piece.

In 1797 the Royal Mint decided to strike some new copper coins on the new steam presses. So, under King George III, they issued copper pennies and for the first time ever a copper two pence. It was so big it weighed 2 ounces of copper and became known as the Cartwheel Twopence. The public hated it because it was so big and heavy and it was only ever issued in that one the year 1797. This largest-ever bronze coin usually comes in well-used condition with lots of heavy edge nicks, as pure copper nicks easily. We have been putting away better quality coins for the past two years and here they are. The coins are in Very Fine condition with a minimum number of small edge nicks. These are truly superior coins and we are offering them at the same price that some coin dealers are charging for inferior examples.

How do you know this is a twopence? We were asked this question the other day and the simple answer is, if it weighs two ounces then it is Twopence, if it weighs an ounce then it is a Penny. They were only issued for one year in 1797; the public hated them, because they weighed so much. This was one of the first coins to be struck under steam pressure on Boulton and Watts steam press. Because they are pure copper they nick and scratch very easily. You have the bust of King George III on one side and a seated Britannia on the other side. This coin is offered in Very Good condition. We give you the best example that we have in stock, but due to the softness of the metal, there will be some dings. A great talking piece and was only issued in 1797.

In 1797, the Mint struck the largest copper coin ever, the so-called Cartwheel Twopence. It weighed two ounces and was the largest and heaviest British copper coin. In fact, it was struck on a steam press for the first time. High grade examples are extremely difficult to find. Retailers used the coins for weights, some people believed that there was a gold coin inside, so they spent all day shaking them. We have spent the past two years putting together this small group of King George III 1797 Cartwheel Twopences in About Extremely Fine condition. If you want a one year type coin, if you want the largest British copper coin ever made and you want them in Extremely Fine, here they are.

In 1811, George III became too unstable to rule, so he signed the Regency Bill which meant his son, George (later George IV) would act as Prince Regent. Silver was in relatively short supply for much of George III’s reign, together with the Royal Mint’s archaic equipment at the Tower, it was impossible to produce coinage at a profit. As a result, before the recoinage Act of 1816, only gold coinage was produced on a regular basis. During the Napoleonic Wars, the Bank of England ordered the production of silver tokens which were issued as legal tender. Two denominations were made – the 3 shillings and the 1 shilling and sixpence (or eighteen pence), they were dated 1811 to 1816. These tokens were minted to a slightly lower silver standard (89%) to allow a profit to be made. Production ended after the end of the Napoleonic War and victory in the Battle of Waterloo, followed by the introduction of the ‘new coinage’ of 1816. We’re pleased to offer you the One Shilling and Sixpence (Eighteen pence) silver token struck in 1811 featuring the armoured bust of George III, we offer them in two grades – Extremely Fine and Uncirculated. We’ve been putting these aside for a few years and they always fly out, take this opportunity to own a historically important piece from the Napoleonic War era. Dates of our choice.