1351-1352 Groat – Edward III

Edward III ruled from 25 January 1327 until 21 June 1377, a reign of more than 50 years. He was considered a great military leader and made England one of the most powerful countries in Europe. Sometimes known as Edward of Windsor.

Edward was born at Windsor Castle on 13 November 1312 to King Edward II and Isabella of France. Edward II was disposed in 1327 and Edward III became King at the age of 14. His mother Isabella and her lover Roger Mortimer initially ruled as Regent but at 17 Edward III established himself as ruler.

Edward married Philippa of Hainault and over the next 25 years had eight sons and five daughters. He outlived his eldest son, Edward the Black Prince (also a great commander), and the throne eventually passed to his grandson Richard II.

Edward III coins were initially based on the coinage of his Grandfather, King Edward I. The greater majority of Edward III coins are the penny, halfpenny and groat, but during his long reign he introduced several new coins. Gold coins appeared after 1344. The gold Edward III double-florin (double-leopard) is one of the rarest British coins as is the gold florin, both can obtain high six-figure evaluations. The early gold Noble is also up there.
The Groat is an old coin worth four pence. It was found in England, Ireland and Scotland. The English Groat can be traced back to Edward I and was minted (not every year) up until Victoria although the fourpence coin is still minted today for use in Maundy sets.The Royal Mint is the designated place for the UK to mint coins. It dates back well over 1000 years and is a Government-owned company. 

Formed in the reign of Alfred the Great about the year 886, during the period 1279-1812 it was generally referred to as The Tower Mint as it was housed at the Tower of London. The Master of The Royal Mint has included famous figures such as Sir Isaac Newton.

Since 2010 it has operated as Royal Mint Ltd, a company owned by HM Treasury, under an exclusive contract to supply all coinage for the UK although it also produces medals and coins for other countries. It is currently located at Llantrisant, Wales.
The United Kingdom (UK) is the Union of England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. It is often refered to as Great Britain (GBR). It has a long, rich history.

The orignal coinage was Pounds, Shillings and Pence but since decimalisation on 15 February 1971, it is £1 = 100p, that is One Pound = 100 pence. The coinage of the UK is also a long history, the Royal Mint being established as long ago as 886AD when coins were hammered. Today there is perhaps 30 billion coins in circulation, and many (numismatic) collectors coins and sets are issued frequently in gold, silver and other metals.