1797 Cartwheel Two Pence, Choice Uncirculated PL
Moonwinx
Posts: 66
This is a 1797 Great Britain, Cartwheel Two Pence. Intended for circulation, this coin is not a proof. This coin is pure copper. : )
Diameter: 41mm
Thickness: 5mm
Weight: 2 ounces
Here's the design that signaled the imminent end for circulation of Conder Tokens, since Conders would soon become illegal to spend or accept in lieu of this genuine new regal coinage of full weight and of pure copper. First, Conders were banned in larger towns, then in the countryside, and in Northern Scotland and Ireland by no later than 1804.
The official cartwheel one penny and two pence coins were struck at Soho Mint in Handsworth England, near Birmingham. They were very large and thick, weighing one ounce and two ounces respectively. While struck in both 1797 and 1798, all of the coins bear the 1797 date. While coins intended for circulation were only of pure copper, all of the proofs were bronzed, so it is easy to tell this prooflike example was intended for circulation, similar to U.S. coinage with our proof sets and mint sets. This would be an uncirculated, prooflike mint example and not a proof.
Being so large and thick, they were difficult to counterfeit because they required a steam-powered coin press. The only steam-powered coin presses were owned by partners Matthew Boulton and James Watt, but they did sell entire mints to foreign governments.
The way they were paid for their presses was on a percentage basis, based on the increase in production over equipment used prior to installation of the steam-powered mint. Boulton's contract with the government to produce the official government coinage at Soho had been a passion of his for twenty years or so, his dream was finally fulfilled. Matthew Boulton is widely acknowledged as the father of modern high speed coining.
I have collected U.S coins for many years, and then Civil War Tokens, but am now actively building a collection of 18th Century Conder Tokens, the coins that made the Industrial Revolution a whopping success. : )
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DPOTD-3
'Emancipate yourselves from mental slavery'
CU #3245 B.N.A. #428
Don
World Collection
British Collection
German States Collection
And I thought that mine was nice!
Yours is fabulous!
(Actually, mine is now in the possession of Mr. Eureka (( at least it was at Boston ANA.)) )
Gary
The strike, the "weapon", and the image as well.
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This thread got me wondering how nice these giant pieces come. There's only one MS example in the PCGS
population report but NGC (whose slab accomodates these) shows the following figures.
MS BN
61- 5
62- 2
63- 13
64- 11
65- 1
MS RB
64- 1
65- 1
Of course, there may be regrades in these figures and some very nice ones like Moonwinx' are not included at all.
Nevertheless, it suggests that a choice uncirculated cartwheel 2P is quite special!
https://photos.app.goo.gl/XdXFmU56tn7mcQq26
Gary
WNC Coins, LLC
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