Record

Title	Cartwheel twopenny (1797)
Repository	Harrow Museum Collection
Ref No	HMC/N/1/2017:87
ObjectNumber	2017:87
Date	1797
Description	George III copper ‘cartwheel’ twopenny, 1797. On obverse, George III bust with laurel crown; on reverse Britannia holding olive branch and trident.
Comments	Before 1797 the highest denomination of a copper coin was the halfpenny and no new coinage had been minted since 1754. This led to a shortage of small change in the late 1780s, making it difficult for employees to pay workers. In 1787 the industrialist Matthew Boulton constructed the Soho Mint, the first to be powered by steam, and successfully lobbied the government to give him the contract to strike new coinage. In 1797, he minted the one and two penny coins. These coins were designed to limit counterfeiting, as their weight in pure copper was so close to the intrinsic value of the material. The large coins with a broad raised rim and inscription pressed below the surface gave rise to the nickname ‘cartwheel pennies’.
Multimedia	$84\ff2057-3f22-4e1e-b5e1-17b70a305c88.jpg$
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	$17\03f946-1146-4795-8e41-70051f2b4781.jpg$
Object Name	Coin
Materials	Copper
Location	On Display

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