1797 UK GREAT BRITAIN LARGE TWOPENCE 2d "Cartwheel," Matthew Boulton, Soho Mint

Description

UK GREAT BRITAIN LARGE TWOPENCE 1797 "Cartwheel," Matthew Boulton, Soho Mint
On one side appears the head of George III, facing right and wearing a wreath, together with the words GEORGIUS III.D:G.REX. On the lowest fold of the drapery at the base of the effigy is the initial K, indicating that the design is the work of the German engraver Kuchler. On the other side (also engraved by Kuchler) is shown the seated figure of Britannia, together with the word BRITANNIA and the date 1797. The letters are incuse (or sunk) and have been placed on a broad raised rim in an attempt to prevent undue wear and lessen the risk of counterfeiting.
The coins were not struck by the Royal Mint but by Matthew Boulton at his private Soho Mint in Birmingham, and the name of the mint can, in fact, be seen on the coins just below Britannia’s shield. They were made legal tender for amounts of up to one shilling by a proclamation of 26 July 1797, which also specified that the twopence should weigh two ounces. The object of making them so heavy was that their intrinsic value should correspond as nearly as possible to their face value: in other words, their cost of production (copper plus workmanship) was to be a penny. The diameter of the twopence measures 1.6 inches.
These large twopence coins were no longer in circulation once Britain adopted a smaller, lighter, bronze penny in 1860.
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UK GREAT BRITAIN LARGE TWOPENCE 1797