Cartwheel penny
The Cartwheel Pennies (German: "Wagenrad Pennys") were copper coins of one and two pennies, which were first minted in large numbers in 1797 by the Soho Mint on behalf of the British Crown. Since the material value of the coins was supposed to correspond to the face value, but these coins were minted from copper, unlike the silver usually used, they were unusually large and heavy. The penny consisted of 28.35 g copper (1 ounce ) and measured 35 mm, the two-pence coin weighed 56.7 g (2 ounces) with a diameter of 41 mm. The wide rims surrounding the coins made them resemble cartwheels, which is why they were popularly nicknamed "cartwheels".
The Cartwheel Pennies were the Royal Mint's first order for the Soho Mint , the world's first steam-powered mint. However, the mint had previously minted a large number of coins for the British colonies and the East India Company and brought various medals onto the market. With the mass production of the cartwheel pennies - 500 tons of them were put on the market in 1797 alone; by 1799 there were a total of 45,000,000 coins - the permanent shortage of low-value coins in the British trading system was effectively countered, which had a strong stimulating influence on the economic life of the time. After the issue of 1797, three more issues followed in 1799, 1806 and 1807.
The coins were designed by the German medalist Conrad Heinrich Küchler . On the front they show a portrait of George III, which is surrounded by the inscription "GEORGIUS III D: G REX". The reverse shows a seated Britannia with a trident and an olive branch. It is surrounded by the inscription "BRITANNIA" and the year of issue.
literature
- Jenny Uglow : The Lunar Men . 2nd Edition. Faber And Faber Ltd, London 2003, ISBN 0-571-21610-2 .
- Chris Upton: A History of Birmingham . Phillimore & Co Ltd, Chichester / Sussex 1993, ISBN 0-85033-870-0 .