Coinage and Money
in Later Stuart England
15th February, 1971, Great Britain had much more interesting
system of money, known as the pounds, shillings and pence
system, or Lsd - the L coming from the Latin word
libra (pound weight), the d coming from the
Latin word denarius (a roman coin) and the shilling
being an ancient English value. The penny has been the basic
unit of currency since about 775AD. The L is almost always
written as a fancy £. For example, four pounds six
shillings and seven pence would be noted as £4 6s7d
or sometimes 4-6-7 or 4/6/7. Fractions of 1/2d and 1/4d
were used to designate a halfpenny and a farthing.
the British system, there are so many different denominations
and names for coins that one could easily become confused
as to their relative values. This page hopes to clarify
some of the more basic relationships.
smallest denomination is a farthing. The next larger
unit is a penny, or pence in the plural. Situated
between these two units of currency is the most common small
change coin of the period, a halfpenny. Two farthings
equal a halfpenny and two halfpence equal one penny.
denominations produced were the half-groat or tuppence
(twopence) worth two pence, the threepence worth
three pence, the groat, worth four pence and the
sixpence, worth six pence.
shilling, equal to twelve pence, becomes the common
base for the larger denominations. A crown equals
five shillings. Situated between these two units is the
half crown equal to two shillings and six pence.
next higher basic unit is the pound, which equals
twenty shillings (or four crowns). The Gold sovereign (with
a value of one pound) was not used in this period. The first
gold sovereign was struck in 1489 for Henry VII, and sovereigns
were also struck for Henry VIII, Edward VI, Mary, Elizabeth
I, and James I, and had a value of one pound. They were
discontinued after 1604, none were struck for Charles I,
being replaced by the "unite", also with a value of one
the reign of Charles II, the guinea was introduced
as the primary gold coin, with a value of twenty-one shillings.
Guineas continued until 1813 in the reign of George III.
The first modern sovereign was struck in 1817 also for George
basic breakdown was 1 pound = 20 shillings = 240 pence
the centuries the denominations of English coins have changed
several times. During the rules of James I (1603-1625) and
Charles I (1625-1649) coins were hammer struck rather than
milled, with several denominations remaining from the Tudor
era. Small copper change was supplemented by privately minted
trade tokens in halfpenny and farthing sizes. Under Charles
II several denominations were retired and new ones created
with the introduction of milled coinage. Thus there is a
basic change in English coinage around 1663.
coinage, that is, high quality coins of uniform size and
shape produced on a press using finely milled blank planchets,
were produced on a limited basis by Oliver Cromwell during
the Commonwealth (1649-1660). Under Charles II milled coin
production greatly expanded and several coin denominations
were revised. In fact, for several denominations Charles
II produced the last hammered version of a particular coin,
during 1660-1662, as well as the first milled version of
the coin, during the later 1660's. Milled hand press coinage
continued to be produced in England through the remainder
of the period. It was not until the very end of the Eighteenth
Century that the next major innovation occurred, namely
the invention of the steam powered coining press at Matthew
Bolton's Soho mint in Birmingham.
coins were in use during the period 1660-1715:
(silver for hammered versions)
basic unit of currency from around 775 AD
shilling & 6 pence
(some gold up to 1662)
(production ceased in 1662)**
guinea was introduced in 1663, made in gold obtained from
Guinea (Ghana) in Africa, its value being fixed at 21s in
1717 (before that date its value depended on the current
price of gold).
These Gold coins were quite rare compared to the lower value
Guineas valued at 105 shillings was the largest denomination
of the milled gold coins. It was first produced in 1668
under Charles II and continued until 1753 when it was stopped
by George II.
gold Two Guineas valued at forty two shillings was
first minted in 1664 under Charles II and ended in 1753
under George II.
gold Guinea with a value of twenty-one shillings
was first minted by Charles II in 1663 replacing the Unite
Laurel Pound. It continued through 1813 under George III.
Unite Laurel Pound, also called the Sovereign
or the Double Ryal, was a gold coin with a value
of twenty shillings. The Unite was first produced by Henry
VIII (1485-1509) and continued through 1662 when the last
of these hammered coins was produced by Charles II.
gold Half Guinea valued at 10s6d was first produced
by Charles II in 1669 and continued through 1813 under George
Half Laurel, Half-Sovereign or Double Crown
had a value of ten shillings. The double crown was first
produced by Henry VIII (1485-1509) and continued through
1662 when the last of these hammered coins was produced
by Charles II. Some larger sized silver double crowns were
produced under Charles I.
Crown, valued at five shillings, dates back to Henry
VII (1485-1509), when it was made of gold. Edward VI (1547-1553)
struck the first silver crowns in 1551-1553, which were
over twice the size of his gold crowns. Both gold and silver
issues continued to be produced through the Commonwealth
period. Oliver Cromwell struck the last hammered gold crowns
(1649-1657) as well as silver crowns (1649-1656) and the
first milled crown (in silver) in 1658. The regular series
of milled silver crowns began in 1662 under Charles II.
At that time no more gold crowns were minted; the crown
became the highest denomination silver coin.
Half-crown, valued at 2s6d, was introduced as a gold
coin under Henry VIII (1509-1547). Production of the hammered
gold half crown continued into the reign of James I who
minted gold half-crowns (1603-1619) and also produced a
larger sized silver half-crown (1603-1625). The minting
of hammered silver half-crowns continued through Charles
I, with the last hammered half-crowns produced under Charles
II in 1660-1662. The milled silver half-crown was first
produced by Oliver Cromwell in 1656 and 1658 during the
Commonwealth, but the first standard regal issue was under
Charles II in 1663.
silver Shilling dates back to Henry VII (1485-1509)
when it was known as the "testoon." By the early Seventeenth
Century it became an important coin with several issues
minted. The final hammered shillings were produced by Charles
II in 1660-1662. The first milled shilling produced by Cromwell
in 1658. The regular series of milled shillings started
in 1663 under Charles II and continued throughout the American
silver Sixpence dates back to Edward VI (1547-1553).
The first milled sixpences were produced by Elizabeth I
during 1561-1571. She also produced a hammered version which
continued under later monarchs. Large quantities of sixpence
were produced by Charles I with the final hammered version
produced by Charles II in 1660-1662. Milled sixpences were
produced in 1658 by Cromwell. The regal series of milled
sixpence started in 1674 under Charles II.
silver Fourpence, originally called a Groat,
goes back to Edward I (1272-1307). The last hammered groat
was produced by Charles II in 1662, who also minted first
milled fourpence coins in 1670. It is often thought the
fourpence coin was part of the Maundy series. That is, part
of a series of specially produced coins that were not made
for circulation but rather were ceremonial. Maundy coins
were (and are) special products produced for the ruler to
distribute to the poor on Maundy Sunday; a ceremonial tradition
that still continues in England. During the period from
Charles II through George II the only true Maundy coin was
the silver penny, and even this coin was minted for circulation
as well as for the ceremony.
silver Threepence was first issued under Edward VI
(1547-1553) with milled coins being produced by Elizabeth
I during 1561-1564. No threepence were produced by James
I while under Charles I threepence were only in considerable
quantities but only at provincial mints (i.e. not in London).
The last hammered threepence was produced by Charles II
in 1660-1662 with his milled threepence series starting
silver Twopence, originally called a half groat,
was first produced in 1351 under Edward III (1327-1377).
The last hammered groat was produced by Charles II in 1662,
who also minted the first milled twopence coins in 1668.
silver Penny appears to have been first introduced
into England during the reign of King Offa in 757. For centuries
it was the only coin struck in the realm with some 70 different
mints producing the coin during the rule of William the
Conqueror (1066-1087). No other denomination was produced
in England until the short-lived 20 pence coin under Henry
III (1216-1272). Charles II produced the final hammered
silver pennies in 1660-1662 and around 1664 or 1665 minted
the first (undated) milled pennies. Although this coin was
used in the Maundy ceremony it also was used in circulation
until the reign of George III.
recent years a few silver Halfpence have been uncovered
from the period of Henry I (1100-1135) and Henry III (1216-1272)
but the series did not become a regular issue until Edward
I (1272-1307). The last hammered halfpence were produced
during the Commonwealth (1649-1660). Charles II did not
produce the very small silver hammered halfpence but rather
completely changed the coin into a larger size copper milled
product. The first copper halfpence were produced in 1672.
a silver Farthing from the reign of Henry III (1216-1272)
has been uncovered, but the series did not become a regular
issue until Edward I (1271-1307). The last silver farthings
were minted under Edward VI (1547-1553). The series was
then suspended as the coins were so small they were difficult
to mint and were unpopular with the public as they were
frequently lost. When the series was renewed by James I
the farthing was a larger coin minted in copper, or occasionally
tin. However these hammer struck coins were not royal issues
but produced by individuals who obtained a royal license
to mint them such as Lady Harrington and the Duke of Lennox.
The practice of issuing royal licenses to mint farthings
continued under Charles I. During this period farthings
averaged about 17 mm in diameter and about 9 grains in weight.
No farthings were produced for circulation during the Commonwealth.
Under Charles II the farthing was changed into a milled
copper coin slightly larger than and about ten times the
weight of the earlier licensed products (averaging about
22 mm diameter and about 89 grains in weight under Charles
II). They were first produced in 1672 and continued in regular
production until the end of the reign of George II in 1754.
Brief History of British Regal Copper Production during
the Late Seventeenth Century
Thursday August 1, 1672, Charles II demonetized tokens and
announced the government would begin making copper small
change coins in a proclamation entitled "A Proclamation
for making currant His Majestie's Farthings and Half-pence
of Copper, and forbidding all others to be used" (printed
in Peck, pp. 605-607). For centuries the crown had produced
and continued to mint silver pennies, shillings and crowns,
but they had never issued coppers. With the change from
hammer coinage to the use of the screw press the king hoped
to be able to profitably make a sufficient number of standardized
small change coppers for the country. The first halfpence
were to be produced at 40 to the pound avoirdupois or about
175 grains of copper per coin, with the farthing being proportional,
which meant the copper content was worth about half the
face value of the coin. As such, these coppers were the
first royal coinage to have an intrinsic value less than
their face value. For this reason they were technically
considered to be tokens rather than coins and so were declared
to be legal tender only in amounts of six pence or less.
No one was obligated to accept more than twelve halfpence
per transaction. Further, the minting of coppers was contracted
by special arrangement with the mintmaster, as the production
of silver and gold coins was considered to be the primary
work of the royal mint. In fact, during the reign of William
III coppers were produced by a private contractor rather
than the mint.
II first produced copper halfpence and farthings in 1672.
Minting began on August 5th with the production of farthings
on four presses. A fifth press was used for halfpence but
production of those coins did not begin until after Christmas.
Interestingly, Charles displayed a bust right (that is,
a right profile) on all his gold and silver coins but used
a bust left on his coppers. He produced copper halfpence
dated 1672, 1673 and 1675 and copper farthings dated 1672-1675
and 1679. In order to produce these coins the mint need
blank planchets of the proper size and weight. However they
did not have the capability of producing the rolled sheets
of copper from which the blanks would be cut out. Therefore
the mint was forced to import finished planchets, which
they contracted with Abraham Cronstrom of Stockholm, Sweden.
The initial run of coppers was produced at 40 halfpence
to the pound, with farthings proportional. However, Cronstrom
had contracted to provide the copper metal at 14.5d per
pound but he discovered there was a Swedish export tariff
of 2.5d per pound, raising the price to 17d a pound. The
Mint would not revise the contracted price for the first
shipment but they did agree to pay the increase for subsequent
shipments. To offset this added cost the weight of the coins
was reduced slightly during this first year of production
(1672) so that halfpence were made at 44 to the pound. Near
the end of his reign Charles began a process that would
free the mint from dependence on imported copper. Hoping
to assist the ailing British tin industry as well as obtaining
a higher minting profit for himself, Charles began minting
tin farthings. The contract (the document is actually called
a warrant in Eighteenth century legal terminology) to produce
these coins was awarded to the partnership of John Buckworth,
Thomas Neale, Charles Dunucombe and James Hoare on June
20, 1684. A square plug of copper was added to the center
as an anti counterfeiting measure. The tin farthings were
produced from 1684 through 1685
II started the production of a plugged tin halfpenny in
1685 and continued production through 1687. During his reign
the warrant to mint tin coins was renewed by Duncome, Hoare
and Neale on March 11, 1686. A few tin farthings were minted
in 1684 with larger quantities produced in 1685-1687. Tin
was a much less expensive metal than copper so that the
intrinsic value of these coins was far lower. This yielded
higher minting profits for the king, but the low intrinsic
value turned public opinion against the coins. In order
to make these tin coins more acceptable James returned to
the heavier weight of 40 halfpence to the pound. As tin
was cheap and readily assessable, a number of counterfeit
halfpence appeared in circulation. James used a bust left
for his gold and silver coins but like Charles used the
opposite profile on his halfpence and farthings, which displayed
a bust right.
and Mary (1688-1694) continued the production of tin halfpence
and farthings with copper plugs from 1689-1692 but lowered
the weight to 42 halfpence to the pound. In 1691 the warrant
to mint the tin coins was renewed by James Hoare in partnership
with Andrew Corbett and Thomas Povey. By this time there
were serious discussions about abandoning the tin coinage.
Although minting profits were considerably higher, the effort
had not revived the tin industry. Additionally, there was
increased public pressure to stop the tin coins due to their
low intrinsic value and the number of counterfeits that
were appearing. Counterfeits especially hurt the poor, in
that anyone who unwittingly accepted one might not be able
to pass it on and therefore would get stuck with a worthless
coin. Further it has been suggested by some modern numismatists
that it became apparent tin was a poor metal for coinage
as it did not last as long as copper due to corrosion.
1693 the monarchs reinstituted copper farthings and in 1694
produced copper halfpence and farthings. An act of April
17, 1694 stopped all production of tin coins and offered
to exchange the less valuable tin coins for new copper coins.
Within a month, by May 16, 1694, the government had received
£40,000 in tin coins from this exchange, which was
over half of the entire tin production of £65,000.
the renewed production of copper coins a new arrangement
was tried whereby the minting of coppers was contracted
out to a private company working at the royal mint. In the
past the mintmaster had contracted small change production,
but for the most part, the contractors were salaried, so
that profits went to the king. Now the entire operation
was licensed to a partnership consisting of Joseph Herne,
Francis Parry, George Clark, Abel Slaney and Daniel Bartow.
They would sustain any loss or reap any profit from the
enterprise. Under the terms of this warrant the blank planchets
were to be produced at the mint. This meant the contractors
were to purchase rolled sheets of copper in the required
thickness and then cut out blanks of the proper diameter.
As an economy measure the contractors did not produce blank
planchets in the normal manner, rather they simply melted
the copper ore then poured it into moulds producing cast
blanks. These blanks were serviceable but produced a less
uniform product with a pitted surface. During this period
a large number of coppers were produced but of poorer quality
workmanship. This poor quality was due to the poor production
techniques and to the hiring of less skilled workman and
diecutters to assist with the large production quotas. The
authorized weight remained 42 halfpence to the pound but
the actual coins were often much lighter. William and Mary
displayed both of their profiles on their coins, using the
bust right for all denominations. After Mary died of smallpox,
William III ruled alone (1694-1701). During this period,
which included a large contract copper production, coins
displayed his bust right profile alone without Mary. Such
a large quantity of copper halfpence (1695-1701) and farthings
(1695-1700) were produced during this period there was no
need for additional coppers to be minted during the reign
of Queen Anne.
Queen Anne (1701-1714) no circulating halfpence were produced,
only a few proof samples were minted. In the last year of
her reign the London mintmaster, Isaac Newton, oversaw the
production of a few farthings, most of which were proofs,
but a few may have been made for circulation. These coins
were slightly smaller that William's farthings but of a
much higher level of craftsmanship. Newton produced a more
uniform product with less of a weight range between examples
and sharper reliefs on the images. Like all of Anne's other
coins her coppers had a bust left profile.
types of Coinage
is the name given to coins issued in Ireland by James II
from 1689-90, made of old brass cannons.
April 1690 James was running short of brass and he reduced
the size of the gun-money coins and issued a smaller shilling
and half-crown, there was an overlap between the introduction
of the small coins and the cessation of production of the
large ones. The sixpence was not produced with the 'small'
James II's defeat at the Battle of the Boyne in July 1690
he fled back to France, but gun-money continued to be issued
in his name in Limerick (the Dublin mint having been captured).
the capture of the Spanish treasure fleet at Vigo Bay in
1702, Queen Anne minted special runs of coins using the
captured Spanish silver. This was a great boost to the English
major currency crises bedeviled the later Stuart reigns.
The first of these occurred in the early years of the restoration.
Although relatively easy to paint out Cromwellian inn signs
and replace them with the King’s head or his Oak Tree, the
restoration of his face to the coinage was a different matter.
Although Charles wished to remove all traces of the Commonwealth,
it’s coinage had to remain in use a little longer. More
than a year after Charles’ return "the calling in of the
money inscribed ‘the Commonwealth’ must be suspended awhile:
there are great quantities of it, and the Mint is not yet
supplied". (Samuel Pepys Diary, 7th June 1661)
new currency arrived in 1662 and was a great improvement
over the old type. The coins were now milled rather than
hammered, which made coins (and pockets) last much longer.
Unfortunately there was a severe shortage of these new coins,
so older coins remained in circulation for many years. In
February 1670, Lord Lucas delivered a speech to the House
of Commons complaining:
is a scarcity of money: for all that money called ‘breeches’
(as fit for the coins of the old Rump) [i.e. the Commonwealth
currency, which had been called in by then] is wholly
vanished … and of his now Majesty’s coin there appears but
very little; so that in effect we have none left for common
use but a little old lean coined money of the three former
princes [I.e. Charles I, James I and Elizabeth I]
and what supply is preparing for it? I hear of none, unless
it be of Copper farthings."
of these ‘former princes’ continued in circulation until
at least the end of the century, and coins of Charles II
were certainly still in use by the reign of Queen Anne.
was also a dire shortage of coins of small denominations,
such as a housewife needed for everyday shopping, a problem
that had been increasing since James I’s day. The few copper
farthings produced were all under license to various nobles,
and the supply of them was not sufficient to fill the demand.
Shopkeepers evolved a pragmatic solution: trade tokens.
In the 1660’s there were 3,543 ‘tokeners’ in the City of
London, its suburbs and Westminster.
tokens were usually made of lead, tin or copper, although
some were of leather. They were usually worth a halfpenny
or farthing (only the coffee-houses found it worthwhile
to issue 1 penny tokens). They were small and came in a
variety of shapes – round, heart-shaped, diamond, square
or hexagonal. Shopkeepers kept boxes with compartments for
each issuer (usually only for those tokeners in the same
area, not all 3,543!) When they had enough they returned
them to the issuer, who changed them for silver or notes
of hand. In March 1668, Prince Rupert and the Duke of Norfolk
suggested to the King that they should make ‘current farthings’
to prevent ‘the loss and inconvenience by private tokens
in case of removals etc., as appeared in the late Fire of
London.’ However, it was not until 1672 the mint started
issuing the first copper farthings.
second crisis came in the early 1690’s when the English
coinage was systematically debased by coin clippers – rogues
who sheared the edges off rimless pre-Restoration coins
and sold them as silver clippings to equally unscrupulous
goldsmiths. Clipping had been a well-organized and thriving
industry since at least the 1670’s, but it was given a major
boost by William’s wars abroad. The purchase of supplies
for the army in Flanders required massive exports of English
bullion to the continent, the rise in demand for silver
bullion leading to an increase in the pace of clipping.
It may well be that the rapid debasement of the coinage
in the early 1690’s was all that sustained the requisite
coin-clipping increased, public confidence in the coin was
stretched to breaking point. By 1695 some of the silver
coins had lost 40-50% of their silver content. In January
1696 parliament passed the necessary legislation for recoining
by demonitization of the clipped coin, which would be melted
down and coined, anew by the mint.
May 4th 1696 the clipped coin was accepted for
tax payments for the last time and during the interval between
demonetization of the clipped coin and the minting of the
new, the circulation of money virtually ceased. In some
places even unclipped coin was no longer accepted as means
of exchange for fear it would no longer be valid. In mid-June
the JP Charles Price found that even coins not visibly clipped
were being refused in south-east Wales:
was on Fryday last at Abergainy about the window tax &
it being Markett day, & the town being great & Pompous
the People were in A great Consternation About the Money,
not being able to Have any Commoditys for it, tho much of
it to my aprehension being good money. … to satisfy the
people & to prevent an uprore I ordered the Beadle to
Proclaime at the Markett Crosse that whosoever refused any
sixpenny not clypped within the Innermost Ring, or any other
punchable money, I would bind them over or Commit them."
by September some of the new minted coinage was in circulation,
the newly struck money would not be widespread until 1698.
Unclipped coinage of the earlier reigns continued to be
used throughout this period, although in some areas merchants
would only accept it if it were weighed first. By the time
of Queen Anne’s reign much of the older unclipped coinage
was still in circulation, although it was slowly replaced
with the newly minted monies.
Royalty | Aristocratic
Royalty | Aristocratic
English Coins 1660-1715 | Charles
II | James
II | William
& Mary | Queen
& Drink Stillifes | Meals
Duke of Marlborough's
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© Copyright N. Kipar 2001. Contents © Copyright
B. Levick 2001.
With permission by the author. All rights reserved. Use
or copying is denied.