George III 1760 - 1820

In 1816 they passed the currency Reform Act which changed our coinage completely. The Guinea was out and the Sovereign was in. All coins before then were no longer legal tender. One coin that was badly needed for everyday usage was the humble sixpence. So in 1816, a new Sixpence was issued. The King hated the design and the public referred to it as the ‘Bull Head’ Sixpence because of the design. But it was only struck from 1816-1820 when a new King took the throne. Dates will be of our choice, but the more coins you order the more different dates we will try and give you.

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.

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.