M E D A L. Sei 
Aruck in filver; the farthings ceafed with Edward VI. 
The groat was introduced by Edward III. in 1354. The 
lialf-groat, or two-pence, is of the fame date. An earthen 
veflel was dug up this year (1816) at Farringdon, Berks, 
containin'* 100 filver twopences of Edward III. with the 
inlcription edw. R. angl. dns. hyb. for Edward king of 
England and Lord of Ireland. Molt of them had on the 
reverfe civitas London. The whole in good prelerva- 
tion. Next to the groat is the tejloon, or (hilling, firlt 
coined by Henry VII. in 1503. The appellation of tejioon 
was derived from the head of the king upon it. The 
Jhilling was at firlt a German appellation, fckellivg 5 coins 
of that name having been Itruck at Hamburgh in 1407. 
The crown was published by Henry VIII. in filver, whereas 
it had before appeared only in gold; (whence the old 
phrafe “crowns of gold and the half-crown, fixpence, 
and three-pence, by Edward VI. Elizabeth, in 1558, 
coined three-halfpenny, and in 1561 three-farthing, pieces, 
but they were dropped in 1582. From the 43d ot Eliza¬ 
beth, 1601, the denominations, weight, and finenefs, of 
EnMilh filver, remain the fame to the prefent time. We 
may juft mention, that, during the late war, about the 
year 18oo, Spanilh dollars were current among us at 4s. 6d. 
and 5s. each, to fupply the want of good lilver. Some 
alfo were ifi'ued by authority at 5s. with a fmall impreflion 
of the king’s head (tamped on the neck of the Spanilh 
monarch. Thefe were loon called in, and then re-coined 
w ithout being melted having now his majefty’s head on 
one fide ; and on the reverfe Britannia with a cornucopia 
behind her and a bee-hive before her; round this figure is 
written five shillings dollar; and over it, the mural 
crown; and round the whole BANK. OF ENGLAND 1814. 
Thefe were ilTued at 5s. afterwards raifed to 5s. 6d. and 
after the firlt of November are to be reduced again to 5s. 
Bank tokens for 3s. and is. 6d. were ilfued in 1811, and 
of a handfomer type and better filver in 1812. But a 
proper coinage of (hillings and fixpences from the mint is 
much wanted, and will probably loon take place. 
Gold was firlt coined in England by Henry III. 1257 ; 
the piece was called a gold penny, but was larger than the 
fiver one ; and the execution is by no means bad for the 
time. It is extremely fcarce, it being faid that only two 
fpecimens have reached us. See fig. 37. The feries of 
gold coinage, however, commences properly from Ed¬ 
ward III. "in 1344, this monarch firlt Itruck Jlorins, in imi¬ 
tation of thofe in Italy ; and it is remarkable that, though 
thefe coins at the time they were firlt iffued bore only 6s. 
value, they are now intrinlically worth 19s. fo much has 
the value of gold increafed fince that time. The half and 
quarter florin were Itruck at the fame time ; but only the 
laft has been found. The florin, however, being found 
inconvenient, gave place to the noble of 6s. 8d. value, and 
exactly half a mark ; which laft had its name from being 
a limited fum in accounts ; and was eight ounces in 
weight, two thirds of the money-pound. It is fometimes 
alfo called Jelibra , as being one half of the commercial 
pound of 16 ounces. The noble had its name from the 
nobility of the metal ; the gold of which it was coined 
being of the fineft fort. Sometimes it was called rofe-noble, 
from both fides being impaled in an undulating circle, as 
feen at fig. 38. It continued, with the half and quarter 
noble, to be the only gold coin till the angels of Edward IV. 
appealed in 1465. Thefe had their name from being 
itamped with the image of Michael and the dragon. The 
angelites, of 3s. 4B. value, were fubftituted in their place. 
In’ 1527 Henry VIII. added to the gold coined the crown 
and half-crown at their prefent value; and the fame year 
be gave fovereigns of 22s. 6d. and ryals of 1 is. 3d. angels 
at 7s. 6d. and nobles at their old value of 6s. 8d. In 1546 
he caufed fovereigns to be coined of the value of 20s. and 
half-fovereigns in proportion. His gold crown is about 
the fize of our (hilling, and the half-crown of fixpence, 
but thin. All his coin, however, gold as well as filver, is 
much debafed ; and it was not without great labour and 
trouble that Edward VI. brought it back to its former 
standard. On the union of the two crowns, James gave 
Vol.XIV, No. 1016. 
the fovereign the name of unite ; the value continuing of 
20s. as before. He coined alfo rofe-ryals of 30s. value, 
fpur-ryals of 15s. angels of 10s. and angelets of 5s. Un¬ 
der the commonwealth, the fovereign got the name of the 
twenty-prilling piece; and continued current till the coin¬ 
age of guineas. Thefe were fo called from their being 
coined of Guinea-gold, and were at firlt only to go for 20s. 
though by an univerfal but tacit confent they always 
paffed for 21s. Half-guineas, double guineas, and five- 
guinea pieces, were alfo coined during the fame reign ; 
which ftill continue, though the two latter are not in com¬ 
mon circulation. In 1688 the guinea role to 21s. 6d. and 
continued to increafe in value till 1696, when it was as 
high as 30s. but after the re-coinage in 1697 and 1698 it 
fell by degrees, and in 1717 was at its old liandard of 21s. 
Quarter-guineas were coined by George I. and likewife 
by his prefent inajefty ; but they were found fo trouble- 
home on account of their fmall fize, that, when received at 
the bank of England, they were not re-iffued ; and thus 
are not to be met with at prefent. Pieces of 7s. value 
have likewife been coined 5 but after the year 1797 they 
difappeared with the reft of the gold. 
Copper may be faid to be the laft, as well as the firft, 
coin in Britain ; for, excepting the Northumbrian Itycas, 
no copper coin was found in England from the time of 
the Saxon conquelt till the year 1672. An averlion to a 
copper coinage feems to have been prevalent throughout 
the nation ; and queen Elizabeth, who without hefitation 
ufed bafe money for Ireland, yet (erupted at coining cop¬ 
per for England. The averfion of the queen and of the 
nation in general, to a copper coinage, was owing to 
the counterfeit money called black money , being always 
of copper mixed or wafhed with about a fifth part of 
filver. The term evidently arofe from contradiftinttion 
to white money , which is yet a name for that pure filver 
which it was made to imitate. When it is confidered, 
therefore, that the bafe money was always of copper, it is 
no wonder that the idea of a copper coinage lliould be 
confounded with that of an impolltion of authorifed bad 
money. But at length the want of fmall coin occafioned 
fuch an increafe of private tokens for halfpennies and 
farthings, that it became a ferious object to government 5 
and in 1594 a copper coinage was ferioufly thought of. 
This year a fmall copper coin was (truck about the fize 
of a lilver two-pence, with the queen’s monogram on 
one fide, and a rofe on the other ; the running legend on 
both fides being, the pledge of a halfpenny. Of 
this there are patterns both in copper and filver 5 
but both of them foon fell into diftife. On the 19th 
of May, 1613, king James, by royal proclamation, if¬ 
fued farthing tokens. They are generally of the fame 
fize with the two-pence, having two fceptres in faltier 
furmounted with a crown, and the harp on the other fide ; 
with an intention, as it would feem, that if they were re¬ 
futed in England they might pal's in Ireland. In 1635 
Charles I. coined thofe with the rofe in Head of the harp; 
but the circulation of thefe was entirely (topped by the 
valt number of counterfeits which appeared, and by the 
king’s death in 1648. After this the private tokens 
began again to be circulated, till put a (top to by the 
coinage of farthings in 1672. The workmanfhip of the 
tokens is quite contemptible. In 1672 the halfpence as 
well as the farthings which had been lfruck two years 
before began to circulate. They were of pure Swedith 
copper, the dies engraved by Roettier; and they continued 
till the year 1684, when fome difputes arofe about the cop¬ 
per lately obtained from the Englilh mines. Tin farthings 
were coined with a ftud of copper in the centre, and in- 
fcribed round the edge as the crown-pieces, with num- 
morum famulus, 1685 or 1686. In 1685, halfpence 
of the fame kind were coined ; and the tin coinage con¬ 
tinued till the year 1692, to the value of more than 
65,000!. but next year the tin was all called in by go¬ 
vernment, and the copper coinage recommenced. The 
farthings of queen Anne are all-trial pieces, excepting 
thofe of 1714, the laft year of her reign ; “ They are (fays 
9 Z Mr a 
