I’ve just taken up metal detecting and after a few weeks of old buttons I found my first coin which is a cartwheel penny. It’s barely recognisable and in very bad condition but thanks so much for this video of how it would have once looked.
Great portrait of George there: looking very much like a Roman Emporer. Which is probably quite appropriate considering the 'madness'. Interesting that there's no value punched onto the coin.
The coin was very unpopular with the public, because of its weight. You can see the matthew and Bolton steam press that made these coins in the science museum, but you will have to ask if they have it, because its moved to different musums all round the country. I have both, the penny and the twopence of this coin. Again thanks for showing, always interesting to see.
These coins were minted for several years after 1797 using the same dies so they are all dated 1797 but could be from several years later and there's no way to tell them apart. The dies were sold and more were minted in 1848 using these dies which were badly corroded by then. The field of the coin not being smooth and very pitted would be an indication that this is a re-strike from the corroded dies.