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 Replies: 7,432 / Views: 402,643 |
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Pillar of the Community
4628 Posts |
Pepactonius, imitation is the sincerest form of flattery as you will see, I can show the 2nd cartwheel penny and a Prussian coin vaguely similar to yours, of course whereas yours are EF/UNC mine crash in around the G/VG level  Great Britain "Cartwheel" Tuppence   These huge pieces were the first coins made by a steam press (Courtesy of Boulton and Watt) at their Soho works. The coins were introduced to combat the rise of counterfeits and a dearth of low value coppers in the late 1700s. There were many tokens made between 1787 and 1794, but no official coppers since 1777 and of those, many were crude forgeries. The coins featured a raised rim, but the detail wore very quickly as my VG example shows and verdigris was a real issue. The coins were 1 ounce and 2 ounces of copper (28.2 grams and 56.4 grams). They minted 8.6 million of the One penny and just 722k of the Tuppence shown here. This was hardly enough for a country with a population of 9 million, 6 million more in Ireland and at least 1 million more in the colonies. In 1800 several barrels of the pennies were sent to Sydney in Australia to use as currency and weights. Apparently if you laid 8 pennies side by side, you had a foot and this was used for cutting lengths of cotton. Many of the coins also became weights at stores! They did wear down. The copper tuppence was the heaviest official coin ever issued by the British (Except some limited issue 10/- and 20/- Silver coins issued during the Civil war of the 1640s). The coin was 41mm in size. The design was by a Conrad Kluchner. The copper from Wales was plentiful but not that durable, and pitting and corroding was common. Bronze was only used after 1860. I agree with Pepa - We will see a mountain of cartwheels and probably Prussian fractional silver coins!  Edited by Princetane
08/31/2020 01:09 am
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Pillar of the Community
4628 Posts |
I also have this "Holey" Prussian 4 groschen piece I got in a junk lot of silver (Bought and paid for, before the huge increae), hardly the nicest condition coin, but worth the $2 I paid for it.   Looking it up, it was only issued in 1797 and 1798 and was of a weird alloy of about 52% silver and weighs around 5 grams being about the size of a coin between a shilling and a sixpence. Interesting 223 year old piece. |
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Bedrock of the Community
United Kingdom
18148 Posts |
Lowball 1797 Cartwheel penny, given to me by my great-aunt when I was 7 years old:  Cartwheel Twopence:  |
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Pillar of the Community
 Sweden
2124 Posts |
Thank you, @paralyse! Quote:
The French coinage of the era ... there are large numbers of overdates, recuts/repunches, and other die varieties Indeed. My 5 francs is 6/5, compact text, big top leaf, with top olive, with bottom olive and acorn, no internal acorns. But I'm not into varieties  . I think Britannia rules the waves today, so I'm making a quick detour from the French revolutionary coins to show my 2 oz specimen. This is one half of my British collection (the other half I showed 55 "years" ago). Cartwheels are fabulous. Back on my regular side of the Channel tomorrow . Great Britain 1797, 2 pence.  |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
2637 Posts |
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Moderator
 United States
34510 Posts |
Here is a Pfennig from the German State of Brunswick-Wolfenbuttel dated 1797:   "If you climb a good tree, you get a push."
-----Ghanaian proverb
"The danger we all now face is distinguishing between what is authentic and what is performed."
-----King Adz
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Pillar of the Community
United States
7998 Posts |
Quote:
1797 -- Polish Partition / Province of South Prussia -- 3 grossus: Very nice. I hope to have some early Polish partition coins for the next edition. |
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Bedrock of the Community
Canada
24885 Posts |
1797 Republique Francaise. Un centime L,an 6A   |
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Bedrock of the Community
United States
12057 Posts |
We're coming up on one of my favorite eras for British coinage. Here is an evasion halfpenny dated 1797 from the "British Tars" series, in this case, Pellew:  The big cartwheels are not without representation as well. This 1797 Penny is counterstamped RI on one side and G on the other:   And this one is counterstamped G. L. Davies:  Member ANA - EAC - TNA - SSDC - CCT #890 "Most of the things worth doing in the world had been declared impossible before they were done." -- Louis D. Brandeis |
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Bedrock of the Community
United States
12057 Posts |
My only 1797 Large Cent is this S-137 variety, a scarcer one (R4)   Member ANA - EAC - TNA - SSDC - CCT #890 "Most of the things worth doing in the world had been declared impossible before they were done." -- Louis D. Brandeis |
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Pillar of the Community
4628 Posts |
Yes as we expected, quite a few cartwheels. One of Britain's most iconic coins and relatively affordable and easy to find. Its a cheap and fun way to own a bit of history.
Needless to say I could start collecting them, when I get bored with Halfcrowns and Florins.
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Bedrock of the Community
United States
12057 Posts |
The cartwheel coins are available here in the States quite affordably up to grades of about US VF. Beyond that, the prices rise steeply, with AU coins being quite expensive, and Unc coins multiples of that.
For such a large and historic chunk of copper they are easy to get into. The only coins of the era that rival them in size and weight are the Russian copper issues.
Member ANA - EAC - TNA - SSDC - CCT #890 "Most of the things worth doing in the world had been declared impossible before they were done." -- Louis D. Brandeis |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
9395 Posts |
1796 -- Viceroyalty of Peru, 1 real   |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
9395 Posts |
1796 -- United States, 1 cent:   |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
9395 Posts |
1796 -- United States, 1 dollar:   |
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Posted 08/31/2020 01:05 am
