The 1797 Twopence - George III - Cartwheel TwopenceThe 1797 Twopence, widely known as the 'Cartwheel' Twopence, is the heaviest circulating coin in modern British history. Its size earned the coin its nickname. It has a diameter of 41mm, it is 5mm thick and weighs 56.70g - two ounces.
It is almost sixteen times heavier than a modern penny. Image walking around with a few of these in your pocket! It was obviously too large and heavy for everyday use, they were unpopular with merchants and so these coins were only made in 1797.
Why was the 1797 Cartwheel Twopence so large in the first place? Back in the latter part of the 18th Century, gold and silver were shooting up in price. This affected the gold Guinea and also the lower denomination silver coins. This made silver coins too expensive to use in small value coins which resulted in a general lack of small change to pay wages.
Copper coins seemed to be the solution, but this was the time of the Industrial Revolution and many individuals had a small press and the technical ability to illegally manufacture coins. Copper was cheap and by the 1790s maybe 90% of the British copper coinage was counterfeit.
Eventually, the British government asked Birmingham Industrialist Matthew Boulton to use his private mint in Soho, Birmingham, to strike official British coins. Boulton, who had James Watt as a business partner, would use steam power for the first time to create British coinage.
Matthew Boulton offered a complete design service and had his own artist/engraver, Conrad Heinrich Küchler, to design both sides of the coin. Küchler (1740-1810) was a German engraver who came to England in 1793 and was employed by the Soho Mint.
The government gave Boulton 480 tonnes of copper to make pennies, and another 20 tonnes to make twopences. Because of the high level of forgeries, it was stipulated that a twopenny coin had to contain two penny’s worth of copper. This created a physically huge coin as one penny could purchase about one ounce of copper.
The Reverse shows Britannia, but not sitting on rocks as in previous depictions but on the waves of the sea with a ship in the distance. The impression is that Britain rules the waves. Britannia holds a trident in one hand and an olive branch in the other. Look closely below the shield, in the waves you can see ‘SOHO’ engraved in it.
There is a deeply raised rim on both sides of the coin and the legend is incuse. The coin has a plain edge. SCBC reference 3776.
The Obverse is a bust of King George III.There are a number of variations concerning alloys and finish – copper, copper proof, gilt copper proof, bronzed proof, silver proof and gold proof. The proofs are rare and can be expensive.
Image credit: The Royal Mint
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Mintage: Not known
Minted at The Royal Mint.
Remember 1797 ?
Monarch is King George III. Prime Minister is William Pitt the Younger (Tory). US President is George Washington (no political party); on 4th March it is John Adams (F-Massachusetts). The copper "Cartwheel" twopence coins pressed, for the only time, at Boulton and Watt's Soho Mint, Birmingham. Bank of England notes are inconvertible to gold, it is the 'Restrictive Period'. The Bank issues the first one-pound and two-pound notes (the £1 remains in issue until 11 March 1988). Horatio Nelson is Knighted.
George III (1760-1820)
Born on 4 June 1738 to Frederick, Prince of Wales and Augusta of Saxe-Gotha in the house of Hanover, George III reigned for over 59 years.George had 15 children - nine sons and six daughters. In the latter part of his life George suffered from a mental illness and his son George became Prince Regent from 1811-1820 and ruled on his behalf. On George III's death, the Prince Regent became George IV.
Note the latin spelling of George on his coins: Georgivs.
Category: Two Pence
The Two Pence (or twopence) coins were introduced at decimalisation in 1971, as Bronze (1971–1992, 1998, with thickness 1.85mm) and Copper-plated steel (1992–present with thickness 2.03mm). Previous to that the twopence was minted in 1797 as copper (the famous Cartwheel Twopence) and as silver in 1817, 1818 and 1820. Any other twopences are from 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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| 1797 Cartwheel Twopence Stunning Coin Genuine 1797 in Fitted Wooden Case SUPERB £ 79.99 |
| British King George III 1797 Copper Cartwheel Twopence 2d Britannia Coin / #1 £ 50.28 |
| George III Cartwheel Twopence 1797 Choose your Coin each has own Pictures £ 159.99 |
| 1797 George III Cartwheel Twopence, GVF £ 135.00 |
 | 1797 Cartwheel Twopence George lll , 100% Copper, Retro £ 6.00 |
 | RETRO- 1797 George III Cartwheel Twopence - - Gap Filler £ 3.99 |
 | British King George III 1797 Copper Cartwheel Twopence 2d Britannia Coin / #2 £ 45.12 |
 | George III 1797 Cartwheel two pence coin copper fine condition G4 £ 39.99 |
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