1776 Date of Independence $ COLONIAL SILVER MAUNDY Penny

Pricing & History

Sold for
Start Free Trial or Sign In to see what it's worth.
Sold Date
Source eBay

$$$ 1776 Magic Key Date! $ COLONIAL SILVER ENGLISH GEORGE III 1776 George III Maundy Penny, very unusual letters - high grade 1776 George III Silver Maundy Penny R of REX over I and 76 over misplaced 76. An UNLISTED overstrike in superb high grade- Extremely Fine and brilliant! Material: Silver Weight: 0.50 grams Size: 12.3 mm Jesus Washing Peter's Feet by Ford Madox Brown Royal Maundy is a religious service in the Church of England held on Maundy Thursday , the day before Good Friday . At the service, the British Monarch or a royal official ceremoniously distributes small silver coins known as "Maundy money" (legally, "the Queen's Maundy money") as symbolic alms to elderly recipients. The coins are legal tender but do not circulate because of their silver content and numismatic value. A small sum of ordinary money is also given in lieu of gifts of clothing and food that the sovereign once bestowed on Maundy recipients. Maundy coinage Sets of one penny through four pence silver coins are known from the time of Charles II onwards. However, as there is no record of any denomination higher than one penny (then struck for circulation in silver) being used in the Maundy gift before 1731, sets from before then are most likely ordinary circulation strikes. At that time, coins used for the Maundy money distribution were indistinguishable from those struck for circulation. It was not until 1752 that coins not struck for circulation were used for the Maundy distribution. In a time when little silver was being struck by the Royal Mint , the coins distributed might bear a previous year's date. [50 ] In 1689, the Royal Mint began using a design for the reverse of the four low-denomination silver coins depicting a crowned numeral. The designer is unknown (Richard Lobel, in his catalogue of British coins, suggests the artist was George Bower, an employee of the Royal Mint whose medals bear similar characteristics), but his work has endured, in a revised form, for over three hundred years. [51 ] In 1822 an amended reverse was introduced, and has been struck every year since then in all four denominations. [52 ] The 1822 reverse design, which places the crowned numeral within an oak wreath was done by Jean Baptiste Merlen. This design, in which the crown was slightly altered in 1888, is still struck. [53 ] Beginning in 1834 threepence pieces were struck for circulation, bearing the same design as the Maundy threepence. The circulation pieces were initially struck for use in the West Indies, but beginning in 1845, were coined for use in Britain as well. [54 ]Many of the threepences presented to impoverished Maundy recipients were spent and are rarer than the other values today. [55 ]Maundy threepences may sometimes be distinguished from currency threepences as dies with a more polished field were used for the Maundy pieces. [56 ] The design of the circulation threepence remained the same as that of the Maundy threepence until 1928, when a new design was introduced for the circulating coins. [57 ] Twopence coins identical to Maundy pieces, intended for colonial use, were struck in 1838, 1843, and 1848. [58 ] Until 1908 Maundy sets could be ordered through banks. Beginning in 1909, however, distribution of the pieces was restricted to Maundy recipients and certain officials. [59 ] Mintage of sets of Maundy money dropped from 9,929 sets in 1908 to 2,428 the following year. [57 ] In recent years, approximately 1,600–1,900 sets have been struck. Additional sets have been struck for inclusion in special silver proof sets marketed by the Royal Mint in 1996, 2000 and 2006, with a special issue in gold as part of a gold proof set in 2002. [60 ]The original composition of the coins was sterling (0.925) silver. In common with all British silver coins, the fineness was reduced to 0.500 in 1921. [59 ] In 1947 silver was removed from all circulating British coinage in favour of cupronickel , but as it was felt to be inappropriate to strike Maundy coins in base ... read more

Items in the Price Guide are obtained exclusively from licensors and partners solely for our members’ research needs.

Flag item for content or copyright

If this item contains incorrect or inappropriate information please contact us here to flag it for review.

If you are the originator/copyright holder of this photo/item and would prefer it be excluded from our community, contact us here for removal.