Posts Tagged ‘history’
Change Checkers are not ready to say farewell to the British Penny…
Last week, we asked Change Checkers if it was time to scrap the British penny.
The penny has been in existence for 1,200 years!
The majority of you said no!
Although it’s fair to say that pennies are rarely used to buy anything anymore, it looks like the sentimental value of the penny is important to us Brits.
53% of Change Checker want to keep the penny.
53% of Change Checkers are in favour of keeping the penny and there are a host of economic, pragmatic, charitable and nostalgic reasons in defence of the penny.
In 1992, all 1p and 2p coins intended for circulation changed from bronze to copper plated steel as a result of the rising price of base metals. Although the Royal Mint does not disclose how much it costs to produce pennies, it is thought that it costs significantly less than face value to produce. The changes to the metal content in 1992 has been key to the future of the penny and allowed it to live on.
Coins are tangible and people do enjoy using them. Most transactions below £10 are still done in cash and it’s likely that it will be a while before it is common for small transactions to be done digitally.
Britain’s traditions run deep and the 1 penny coin is an expression of this tradition. It will be a very sad day if and when they British penny ceases to exist.
Is it time to scrap the Penny?
Pennies have been around in Britain for over a thousand years, but is it now time for the penny to be dropped?
Mark Carney, Bank of England Governor, thinks it is inevitable that Britain will follow countries such as Canada, New Zealand and Australia and scrap the penny.
As Governor of the Bank of Canada he oversaw the withdrawal of the 1p coin equivalent and claims the process was really successful among Canadians.
Not only was the 1 cent coin unmissed by Canadians and reduced the cost of transactions for both businesses and the Government, a massive $11m was saved in the first year by discontinuing the production of the coins.
But are we ready to say farewell to the British Penny?
The Penny has been around for over 1,200 years.
The Penny was one of the earliest British coins, first minted in the 8th century AD.
The silver penny became universal throughout Britain in 959 and until the reign of Henry III in 1234 it was one of the only denominations minted.
The Penny even survived decimalisation in 1971 making it one of the only denominations that was kept during the changeover.
Although it’s fair to say that pennies are rarely used to buy anything, it’s thought that an estimated 11.2 billion pennies are currently in circulation.
What about Ireland’s ‘Rounding’ Initiative?
In October 2015, Ireland lauched its ‘Rounding’ initiative. It aimed to reduce the use of 1 cent and 2 cent coins by rounding the total amount of any bill paid by cash on a voluntary basis up or down to the nearest 5 cent mark.
So far, 126 million coins have been taken out of circulation. So could Britain follow in the same footsteps as Ireland?
As with any coin, the loss of the penny would be a blow to coin collectors everywhere. But we must remember that these changes are part of what makes coin collecting so interesting. Designs change, new coins come into existence and some coins will inevitably disappear.
So should we get rid of the Penny? Let us know in our poll:
The Penny that’s set to reach £115,000 at Auction
A rare 1933 Penny is set to fetch a world record £115,000 when it goes to auction in a couple of weeks.
There are just seven 1933 pennies in existence making it the rarest British coin of the 20th century. So it’s no surprise that the Penny has already reached bids in excess of £72,000 online.
Will the next one make a Pretty Penny?https://t.co/tjDHwGXXFD
— Mr Neutron still tweets (@iansco) July 28, 2016
There were originally no plans for the Royal Mint to produce any new pennies in 1933 as there were already plenty in circulation. However, following special requests from the King for a commemorative coin to mark that year, seven coins are believed to have been produced.
The coin features the portrait of King George V on the obverse while Britannia features on the reverse.
Three of the pennies were produced for the King in order for him to place them under important buildings that were under construction at the time. Two of the pennies are at the Royal Mint Museum, and another two are on show at the British Museum.
In 1970, during construction at the Church of St. Cross in Leeds, one of the coins was stolen from the Church’s cornerstone. The whereabouts of this coin remains a mystery.
To prevent another penny being stolen, the Bishop of Ripon ordered that the penny should be unearthed and sold. This coin has also been in private hands since 1972.
The chance to own the rarest British penny of the 20th century is a once in a generation opportunity. The auction will be held in Dallas, Texas on August 11th 2016.