1877) A 1920 British Penny featuring King George V, United Kingdom: The Evolution of the English/British Penny (plural "Pence"), United Kingdom:
The name "penny" comes from the Old English pennige (pronounced [ˈpennije]), sharing the same root as the German "Pfennig". Its abbreviation "d." comes from the Roman "Denarius" and was used until decimalisation in 1971.
The English Penny:
The English Penny was originally a coin of 1.30 to 1.50 grams (0.042 to 0.048 troy ounces; 0.046 to 0.053 ounces) pure silver, introduced in 785 AD by King Offa of Mercia.
These coins were similar in size and weight to the Continental Deniers (the Denier (Latin: Denarius; abbr . "d") or "penny" was a medieval coin which takes its name from the Frankish coin first issued in the late seventh century; in English it is sometimes referred to as a silver penny), of the period and to the Anglo-Saxon Sceats (which was a small, thick silver coin minted in England, Frisia, and Jutland during the Anglo-Saxon period), which had preceded it.
Throughout the period of the Kingdom of England, from its beginnings in the 9th century, the penny was produced in silver.
Pennies of the same nominal value, 1⁄240 of a pound sterling, were in circulation continuously until the creation of the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707.
At the time of the Viking invasions:
Anglo-Saxon silver pennies were the currency used to pay the Danegeld, (essentially protection money paid to the Vikings) so that they would go away and not ravage the land.
As an illustration of how heavy a burden the Danegeld was, more Anglo-Saxon pennies from the decades around the first millennium have been found in Denmark than in England.
In the reign of Ethelred the Unready (978–1016), some 40 million pennies were paid to the Danes, while King Canute (Knut) (1016–1035) paid off the invasion army with another 20 million pennies.
This is equivalent to about 2,800,000 troy ounces (87 tonnes; 96 short tons) of silver, equivalent to £250,000 at that time, and worth about £20 million in present day money (its purchasing power at that time may have exceeded £100 million and may have been as high as £1 billion in 2005).
The penny initially weighed 20 to 22.5 modern grains (1.3 to 1.5 g). It was standardized to 32 Tower grains, 1⁄240 of a Tower pound (approx. 350 g).
The alloy was set to sterling silver of .925 fineness in 1158 under King Henry II. The weight standard was changed to the Troy pound (373.242 g) in 1527 under Henry VIII, i.e. a pennyweight became about 1.555 grams.
As the purity and weight of the coin was critical, the name of the mint master who manufactured the coin, and at which mint, often appeared on the reverse side of the coin.
From the time of King Offa, the penny was the only denomination of coin minted in England for 500 years, until the attempted gold coinage issue of King Henry III in 1257 and a few halfpennies and farthings in 1222, the introduction of the groat by King Edward I in 1279, under whom the halfpenny and farthing were also reintroduced, and the later issues of King Edward III.
At the time of the 1702 London Mint Assay by Sir Isaac Newton, the silver content of British coinage was defined to be one troy ounce of sterling silver for 62 pence. Therefore, the value of the monetary pound sterling was equivalent to only 3.87 troy ounces of sterling silver. This was the standard from 1601 to 1816.
Pennies by period:
The early English penny - the Anglo-Saxons (600-1066)
The Early Normans and the Anarchy - (1066–1154)
The Plantagenets - (1154–1485)
The Tudors - (1485–1603)
The Stuarts and the Commonwealth - (1603 - 1707)
The Hanoverians - (1704-1901)
The Twentieth Century Penny - (1901–1970)
British Decimal Day Penny - (1971)
Post-decimalisation - (1971–present)
The British Penny:
The British Penny (1⁄240 of a pound sterling), a large, pre-decimal coin which continued the series of pennies which began in about the year 700, was struck intermittently during the 20th century until its withdrawal from circulation after 1970.
From 1901 to 1970, the Obverse ("Heads" side) of the bronze coin depicted the monarch who was reigning at the start of the year. The Reverse ("Tails" side), which featured an image of Britannia seated with shield, trident, and helm, was created by Leonard Charles Wyon based on an earlier design by his father, William Wyon.
The coins were also used in British colonies and dominions that had not issued their own coins.
George V Penny (struck 1911–1936):
Coins for George V, who took the throne on Edward's death in 1910, were subject to a design competition won by Bertram Mackennal, who also prepared the medal for the Coronation.
The King liked his work, as he was appointed a Member of the Royal Victorian Order in 1911 and knighted in 1921.
The inscription around the left-facing bust on the outer periphery reads "GEORGIVS V DEI GRA BRITT OMN REX FID DEF IND IMP" (meaning "George V, By the Grace of God King of all Britons, Defender of the Faith, Emperor of India").
The Reverse of the 1920 One Penny Coin
No significant change was made to the Reverse design, which continued to show the seated Britannia design (as in the earlier pennies of Edward VII, surrounded by the inscription "ONE PENNY", with the date at the bottom of the coin; this design remained largely unchanged until the coin's demise after 1970 upon decimalisation. These bronze coins were made current by proclamation dated 28 November 1910, effective 1 January 1911.
George V's pennies were minted to the same standard as the final Victorian issues and those of his predecessor, Edward VII: 95 percent copper, 4 percent tin and 1 percent zinc, and, like all bronze pennies from 1860 until 1970, they weigh an average of 1⁄3 ounce (9.4 g) and have a diameter of 1.2 inches (30.81 mm).
In addition to those pennies struck at the Royal Mint, in 1912, 1918 and 1919 some pennies were produced at the Heaton Mint in Birmingham, and are identified by an "H" mint mark to the left of the date.
In 1918 and 1919 some were produced at the Kings Norton Metal Co. Ltd, also in Birmingham, and have a "KN" mint mark.
Both firms also provided blanks to the Royal Mint for striking into pennies from 1912 to 1919. This was due to high demand for small change, initially caused by the 1911 implementation of the National Insurance Act by the Asquith government, and thereafter by the war years.
King George's pennies were produced in the same alloy as before until 1922, but the following year the composition of bronze coins was set at 95.5 percent copper, 3 percent tin, and 1.5 percent zinc, although the weight remained at 1⁄3 ounce (9.4 g) and the diameter 1.2 inches (31 millimetres).
This alloy was slightly more malleable; the lessened force needed to strike pennies helped minimise ghosting.
No pennies were struck for the years 1923, 1924 or 1925; this was due to lack of demand as the inter-war years saw alternating gluts and shortages of pennies.
In 1928, the King's portrait was reduced in size, effectively eliminating the ghosting problem.
The inscription around the three variations of the left-facing head remained "GEORGIVS V DEI GRA BRITT OMN REX FID DEF IND IMP," while Britannia remained on the reverse, as before, though that design was slightly modified in 1922.
By the end of George's reign, in 1936, the bronze penny, which had felt lighter in weight compared with older coppers when the alloy was first used for it in 1860, was regarded as weighty and cumbersome, the heaviest bronze coin in circulation in Europe.
The weight when in bulk caused problems for business; the London Passenger Transport Board for example, received 6,000 tonnes of pennies, halfpennies and farthings a year.
A reduction of size for the penny was deemed impractical, given the time it would take to recoin the 3,000,000,000 pennies in circulation, and because many automatic machines that took pennies would have to be reconfigured.
The major response was the 1937 debut of the brass three-pence coin. This twelve-sided piece was introduced since threepence worth of pennies or halfpennies was heavy and inconvenient, and the silver threepenny bit was deemed too small.
(The above Coin has been contributed for my collection by my friend Pratik Karde. Scans taken and post researched by Rajeev Prasad)
Links: Postage Stamps from the British Isles:
"Tales of the Earth Coin Series": The Second Dinosaurs Collector Coin Series:
Myths & Legends Coin Series:
3) Hylaeosaurus, United Kingdom: Third and final Coin in a three Coin 50 Pence Coin Series titled "Tales of the Earth - Dinosauria", brought out by the Royal Mint, UK in five variants - Gold, Silver (x 2 coins) and Cupro-nickel (x 2 Coins): Date of coin issue: 01.06.2020
Links to some other interesting posts from the British Isles and British Overseas Territories/Dependencies:
Links: Crypto-Currency Stamps & Coin Posts:
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