Beginning in 1860, Britain replaced its copper coinage with bronze pieces. The existing copper coins (principally the penny, the halfpenny and the farthing) were seen as too large and heavy. Thomas Graham, the master of the Mint, persuaded William Gladstone, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, to replace them. Gladstone secured authorising legislation and a vote of funds in Parliament. Leonard Charles Wyon of the Royal Mint was tasked with rendering designs for the new coinage. He produced an obverse for the new coins depicting Queen Victoria, who modelled for him. The reverse featured Britannia (pictured). With the aid of two outside firms, the Royal Mint struck enough of the new bronze coins that it began calling in the copper pieces in 1861, a process complete after 1877, although less than half in terms of value of the extant coppers were paid in. The new coins remained current until the run-up to decimalisation in 1971, except for the farthing, which was demonetised from 1 January 1961.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1860s_replacement_of_the_British_copper_coinage> _______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries: 1881: The Jeannette expedition to reach the North Pole from the Pacific Ocean via the Bering Strait came to an end when the USS Jeannette was finally crushed and sank after having been trapped in ice for almost two years. <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Jeannette_%281878%29> 1952: Soviet aircraft shot down a Swedish military plane carrying out signals-intelligence gathering operations, followed three days later by the shootdown of a second plane searching for the first one. <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catalina_affair> 1969: Preston Smith, Governor of Texas, signed a law converting a research arm of Texas Instruments into the University of Texas at Dallas. <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/University_of_Texas_at_Dallas> 2013: Some of the closest advisors and collaborators of Czech prime minister Petr Nečas were arrested for corruption. <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2013_Czech_political_corruption_scandal> _____________________________ Wiktionary's word of the day: Mrs Miggins: (UK, informal) Any ordinary woman, especially an older woman. <https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Mrs_Miggins> ___________________________ Wikiquote quote of the day: In dreams begins responsibility. --William Butler Yeats <https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/William_Butler_Yeats> _______________________________________________ Wikipedia Daily Article mailing list. To unsubscribe write to: [email protected] Questions or comments? Contact [email protected]
