More Small Change

In a previous post I showed you a 1797 George III copper "cartwheel" penny. Unfortunately the specimen I have is so badly worn that seeing any detail on the real thing is almost impossible but on the photo I'd be surprised if you could even tell it was a coin!

So today I can show you a 1797 George III solid copper "cartwheel" two pence piece. To get an idea of it's size you can see it in relation to the most recently issued two pence coin. As mentioned before the coin, when issued, was worth it's weight in copper and hence weighs a whopping 2oz. Whilst it is therefore twice as heavy as the penny it isn't twice the diameter. It is only a little bigger with most of the additional copper being used to make the coin exceptionally thick.

I alluded last time to the remarkable detail of the coins when seen on a good specimen. The intricate detail made it almost impossible for forgers to copy the coins. To show you what I mean have a look at the detail on the ship seen to the left of Britannia on the coin. Given that this coin is now 211 years old the fact that on such a small part of the coin you can clearly see the sails, rigging and gun ports is amazing.