John Winter
Hero Member
Way back, from about 1200 AD to the end of the 18th century, British pennies were made from silver. To this day, all coins in the Maundy sets are still made from silver, including the Maundy Pennies.
The making of low value coins silver became far too expensive so from 1797 they were made from copper. It was during Queen Victoria’s reign that copper changed to bronze. Although bronze is mostly copper it was deemed that the alloy of 95.5% copper, 3% tin and 1.5% zinc made coins a lot more durable and subsequently a little cheaper to produce.
Then came decimalisation in 1971. What a momentous day! Gone was our beloved pound shilling and pence system - in which there were 20 shillings in each pound and 12 pence in each shilling. The existence of 240 pence in each pound was a legacy from Anglo-Saxon times when a Roman pound in weight of silver was divided into 240 silver pennies. Why did we have to change!
Pennies were still made from bronze, but even that became too expensive to produce. From 1992 they have been made from copper plated steel, which makes them very cheap and very durable. Supposedly.
Just look at the penny I discovered. Hardly ten years old and totally knackered … sorry, I mean exhausted. If this is how modern coins are faring, I reckon they will be far from being a favourable detectorist find in the future.
Usually I save my equally distressed one-pound coins and liberate them in the nearest car parking meter when I go into town. The guy in the corner shop won’t take them and I don’t have the time to answer the bank teller’s inevitable questions. Too much hassle.
The making of low value coins silver became far too expensive so from 1797 they were made from copper. It was during Queen Victoria’s reign that copper changed to bronze. Although bronze is mostly copper it was deemed that the alloy of 95.5% copper, 3% tin and 1.5% zinc made coins a lot more durable and subsequently a little cheaper to produce.
Then came decimalisation in 1971. What a momentous day! Gone was our beloved pound shilling and pence system - in which there were 20 shillings in each pound and 12 pence in each shilling. The existence of 240 pence in each pound was a legacy from Anglo-Saxon times when a Roman pound in weight of silver was divided into 240 silver pennies. Why did we have to change!
Pennies were still made from bronze, but even that became too expensive to produce. From 1992 they have been made from copper plated steel, which makes them very cheap and very durable. Supposedly.
Just look at the penny I discovered. Hardly ten years old and totally knackered … sorry, I mean exhausted. If this is how modern coins are faring, I reckon they will be far from being a favourable detectorist find in the future.
Usually I save my equally distressed one-pound coins and liberate them in the nearest car parking meter when I go into town. The guy in the corner shop won’t take them and I don’t have the time to answer the bank teller’s inevitable questions. Too much hassle.
