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Name or Denominations
1 Penny (1⁄240)
Issuer
United Kingdom and Australia
Ruler
George III ( 1760-1820 )
Year of Minting
1797
Currency
Pound sterling ( 1158-1971 )
Shape
Round
Rarity
Common
Weight
28.35 g
Diameter
36 mm
Thickness
3 mm
Material
Copper
Shape
Round
Edge Type
Plain
Technique
Milled
Front design
Laureate and draped bust of King George III right, legend around on raised rim.
Back design
Seated figure of Britannia left, with trident and shield in left hand, olive branch in raised right hand, shield bearing Union flag resting on left, sea behind with ship on left, mint name below shield, legend above and date below on raised rim.
Year of Minting
1797
King
George III ( 1760-1820 )
Mint location
Soho Mint , Handsworth, England (1788-1850)
Mint mark
SOHO
Orientation
Coin alignment ↑↓
Inscriptions
Obverse: GEORGIUS III·D:G·REX. K Reverse: BRITANNIA SOHO 1797
Context
The first base metal regal pennies to circulate in Britain, these pieces were produced by Matthew Boulton using a steam powered press at the Soho Mint in Birmingham beginning in 1797. From 1770 until the end of the 18th century the practice of melting down the official copper coins and making lightweight forgeries had become so widespread that it prompted industrialist Matthew Boulton to offer a potential solution. He proposed that each coin should actually be made to contain its value in copper (one ounce avoirdupois), that the quality should be improved by using a retaining collar during striking (to give a perfectly round coin) and by designing the coins with thick raised borders to prevent them wearing so easily. This type is one of the 1800 Australian Proclamation coins . In 1800 the then-Governor of New South Wales, Philip Gidley King issued a proclamation that ten specific British, Netherlands, Indian, Portuguese and Spanish coins were to be brought into the colony and given inflated denominations than what was indicated on the coins so that they would say in circulation in the colony. This Penny had a value of 2 Pence. This type was struck in copper by Boulton for several years after 1797 with no change in date, along with some later strikes in a variety of metals. Further restrikes were produced by W.J. Taylor when he bought the dies in 1848; the chief way these later issues can be distinguished is by marks resulting from die corrosion.
Rarity
Common
Coin type
Standard circulation
In circulation
No
Demonetized
Yes
Marketplace listings
0
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