![George III, Cartwheel Twopence, 1797. MS62BN [ACP1C-11] - Image 2](https://colonialcoins.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/ACP1c-11-2.jpg)
Description
Kingdom of Great Britain, George III of the House of Hanover, King of Great Britain 1760-1820 AD, Æ ‘Cartwheel’ Twopence, 1797, by Matthew Boulton, Soho mint, Birmingham. Obverse: Laureate, draped and cuirassed bust of King George III facing to the right, engraver’s initials “K” (Conrad Heinrich Küchler) raised on truncation, incuse legend surrounds on raised rim, “GEORGIUS III· D:G· REX.”. Reverse: Britannia seated left, hair collected in bun, draped and holding sprig of olive aloft in right hand and resting trident in left arm, Union Jack rests by her side above the mint name “SOHO” in relief, flowing waves below, ship in sail to lower left background, incuse date and legend surrounds on raised rim, “BRITANNIA.”. S-3776. Certified and graded by NGC as Mint State 62 Brown.
The obverse Latin legend reads “Geōrgius Tertius, Deī grātiā, rex”, with an English translation of “George the third, by the Grace of God, King”.
The English Penny is a small monetary denomination that was first issued as a small silver coin in the mid-8th century AD and remained as such for approximately a millennium before being struck in copper. The first copper Penny was issued in 1797 to address the severe copper crisis, and was done by Matthew Boulton of the Soho mint and his revolutionary steam-pressed milling machinery. These new Pennies, as well as the Twopences, were dubbed the ‘cartwheel’ types due to their new design. Although the cartwheel Penny is the specific denomination chosen by Philip Gidley King, the Governor of New South Wales, for his daring currency proclamation of 1800 AD, the Twopence, struck to the same weight standard, is considered part of the ‘Wider Series’ of Australian Proclamation Coins. In an attempt to maintain circulating currency within the colony, each proclamation coin was given a high face value within Australia, the cartwheels were doubled – the Penny was revalued to two pence, the two pence to four pence.
