On the other side (also engraved by Kuchler) is shown the seated figure of Britannia, together with the word BRITANNIA and the date 1797. 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 one side appears the head of George III, facing right and wearing a wreath, together with the words GEORGIUS III.D:G.REX. King Offa penny The ‘cartwheel’ penny and the twopence of 1797Īmong the pieces most frequently received for examination from members of the public are the large copper pennies and twopences of 1797, known as ‘cartwheels’ because of their huge size. Silver pennies are still struck today for the same purpose, nearly 1400 years after the penny first appeared as a small silver coin. It survived the Norman Conquest of 1066 and continued to be struck for circulation until the middle of the 17th century, 12 pennies making a shilling and 20 shillings a pound.īecause of the rising price of silver the penny became progressively smaller and from the Restoration of Charles II in 1660 it was struck only for use as part of the Royal Maundy. Derived indirectly from the old Roman denarius, it existed as a small silver coin from Anglo-Saxon times. The penny is the great survivor of the British coinage system.
