1683 Fourpence – Charles II (milled)

1683 Fourpence Charles II Reverse

The 1683 Fourpence - Charles II (milled)

Charles II Silver Fourpence, minted at the Royal Mint in 1683. Milled. SCBC: 3384. Diameter 19mm and weighs about 2g.

The later small currency silver coins of Charles II were made by the machines of the Roettier brothers, despite that this was not part of their original agreement.

The Fourpence has 4 interlocking C's on the reverse, the threepence 3 C's, twopence 2 C's and the penny only has one. Although they may be thought of as a Maundy set, all the coins were released into circulation. It is thought that at the Maundy ceremony Charles II only gave out pennies.

The Obverse, engraved by John Roettier, shows the laurel and draped bust of King Charles II. The legend around is "CAROLVS II DEI GRATIA" meaning "Charles II by the Grace of God".

The Reverse, also engraved by John Roettier, shows four interlocking C's at the centre ('C' for Charles). There are four C's as this is the fourpence. National emblems in quarters. Legend "MAG BR FRA ET HIB REX" which states that Charles II was King of Great Britain, France and Ireland. Date "1683" is split across top.

Image credit: M J Hughes Coins


Mintage: Not known
Minted at The Royal Mint.
Remember 1683 ?
In Roman numerals: MDCLXXXIII. Monarch was Charles II. The Ashmolean Museum in Oxford opens. George II is born. The River Thames freezes over and there is a Frost Fair.
Charles II (1660-1685)
Charles II was King of England, Scotland, and Ireland. He was king of Scotland from 1649 until his deposition in 1651, and king of England, Scotland and Ireland from the 1660 Restoration of the monarchy until his death.

The reign of Charles II is an interesting period for coin collectors. Charles issued many coins. When his father, King Charles I was executed, Charles II was forced into exile and Civil War raged in England. The first coins were those of Charles I, issued in the name of Charles II, minted around the country to pay armies. After the Reformation of the Monarchy, Charles II issued his own coins and from 1670 hammered coins were gradually replaced with milled coins.

The regnal years used on Charles II coins were:
1668:VICESIMO; 1669:VICESIMO PRIMO; 1670:VICESIMO SECVNDO; 1671:VICESIMO TERTIO; 1672:VICESIMO QVARTO; 1673:VICESIMO QVINTO; 1674:VICESIMO SEXTO; 1675:VICESIMO SEPTIMO; 1676:VICESIMO OCTAVO; 1677:VICESIMO NONO; 1678:TRICESIMO; 1679:TRICESIMO PRIMO; 1680:TRICESIMO SECVNDO; 1681:TRICESIMO TERTIO; 1682:TRICESIMO QVARTO; 1683:TRICESIMO QVINTO; 1684:TRICESIMO SEXTO.

Charles II coins usually use the latin spelling: Carolus II.
Category: Groat
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.
Which Mint: The Royal Mint
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.
Country of Origin: United Kingdom
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.
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