George III, Sixpence, 1787 Fine

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