Mr. Boulton ….. one of his coins …. and King George III

It isn’t much to look at and until recently I had totally ignored it amongst the coins our Stella collected over four decades ago.

King George III on his Irish half penny, 1806

The image of King George III is almost unrecognizable and if it wasn’t for his name around the rim I would probably have discarded the coin and returned it to the collection.

But given the name I persevered, and scanned both sides which revealed the date 1805, the word Hibernia and a worn but distinct harp and crown.

So clearly there was a story, which involves Matthew Boulton, he of the Boulton and Watt steam partnership, and his Soho works in Birmingham.

My Wikipedia* offers up a fascinating history of the man, who with James Watt took the steam engine to a whole new level of technology and usage and along the way offered up one of my favourite observations about his part in the Industrial Revolution.  Speaking to James Boswell in 1776 at the Soho Works he grandly pronounced “I sell here, Sir, what all the world desires to have – POWER”.

A harp, a crown and the name Hibernia, 1806

It is a simple and powerful statement which has stuck with me ever since I first heard it quoted in an A level history lesson back in 1966 by Mr. Naismith.

And amongst all the things pouring out of the works was this Irish half penny, instantly identifiable by the harp.

And according to Historic Environment Scotland, "The obverse bears the robed and laureate bust of the king with long hair. A crowned harp is at design on the reverse.

The inscription reads ' GEORGIUS III D: G. REX’, on the obverse. 

This translates as: 'George III by the grace of God King'. The legend quotes 'HIBERNIA' on the reverse, which means, 'Ireland'.

In 1805 the Soho Mint struck large quantities of heavy weight copper pennies, halfpennies and farthings, and today these are perhaps the commonest of the older Irish coins still surviving. 

The precision striking and the engrailed edges made them difficult to counterfeit. 

They were the last official copper issue until 1822, but further tokens made their appearance in order to satisfy the public demand".**

All of which makes it far more interesting than the very worn lump of metal would at first seem to promise.

Now I am never over bothered about the value of such things on the open market which are now just part of the family history, but in the course of researching Mr. Boulton’s half penny one site suggested an uncirculated George III Irish half penny might go for £350, while one in “good condition” was worth £1.50, so given the state of ours I doubt I would be booking a luxury cruise on the strength of selling it.

1916 Penny

But as ever it is the stories associated with the coins which make each one interesting, and by extension take you into the very unhistorical temptation to speculate on how it was used and who used it over its long history.  

Daft I know as at the end of the day each was a coin designed to pay someone a wage or to buy a loaf of bread, a pint of beer, or a trip out.

And that leads me to my 1916 penny, less worn on one side than the other and of course issued in the middle of the Great War.

The romantic in me wonders what sort of journey it encountered in its 55 years from when it went into circulation till it was stopped in its tracks by the introduction of decimal coinage in 1971.

The possible uses are endless, but it might have passed over the counter to buy a ticket at one of the new cinemas which were being built, travelled the country or sat in a penny savings box.  Either way it will have seen plenty of use judging by its worn appearance.

A youthful Queen Victoria, 1883

And it fared a little worse than its Victorian predecessor from 1883, which given its age might have taken a lot more wear and tear.  

Queen Victoria still looks relatively youthful despite the fact that by the year of the coins issue she had been on the throne for 55 years.

No doubt someone will walk me through the changes to her appearance on her coinage from the coronation in 1837 to the “old lady” on later issues.

We shall see.

For now, that is it other than to say the small number of coins is strictly speaking not a collection, doesn’t contain anything more valuable than 3 penny bit, and apart from a couple of Roman ones all date from the last two centuries.

A worn Britannia, 1883

Location; 19th and 20th century Britain

Pictures; King George III Irish half penny, 1806, King George IV penny 1916, and Queen Victoria penny 1883, from the collection of Andrew Simpson

*Mathew Boulton, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matthew_Boulton

** Historic Environment Scotland https://www.historicenvironment.scot/archives-and-research/archives-and-collections/properties-in-care-collections/object/george-iii-irish-halfpenny-1805-modern-edinburgh-castle-48184