Silver Penny

The penny is among the earliest of British coins. It was first minted in the 8th century AD. But it was not until  959 that the silver penny became common throughout Great Britain. This continued until the sovereignty of Henry III, where the penny was almost the only coin minted.

The silver penny is still minted today but as part of the Maundy Money, this is where the Queen in a ceremony gives a number of pensioners  a quantity of silver coins specially minted, the ceremony takes place at Easter each year.

From the reign of Charles II all Silver Pennies were made by machine, prior to this date they were hammered, they were still being minted for general use for many years but with the advent of the copper penny in 1797 the only silver pennies produced then were the ones for the Maundy Ceremony.

	Silver Half Penny Silver halfpenny have been around since the Henry I but these are extremely rare, and as no documentary evidence of these coins is known to exist