A 1787 King George III sixpence A 1787 King George III shilling If you have collected British coins from the reign of King George III, you are probably aware that the 1787 shilling and perhaps the sixpence, which is a little scarcer, are common coins. Not only is the 1787 shilling common, but it’s also often available in high grade, EF or better with Mint State pieces not that hard to find. Many collectors assume that this was a feeble attempt by the British Government and Mint to alleviate the severe coin shortage which England was facing at that time. During King George III’s reign, the mint issued a shilling in 1763 and did not issue another one until 1787. It would not issue another shilling until the coinage reform era starting in 1816. The only other silver coins that British Government issued were the Maundy coins. Their mintage was so limited that it hardly made a dent in the coin shortage. So why did the British issue shillings in 1787? The answer was that the Bank or England ordered them. The bank’s customers had been asking for coins that they could give as gifts at Christmas time. Silver pieces like the shilling and sixpence were also cooked into plum puddings as “lucky surprise” the guest who found in his or her desert during the holiday season. When these requests came, the bank found that it had few coins to offer them, and most of those pieces were worn and unattractive. So the bank ordered the two silver coins. One other problem that prevented the widespread requests and usage of British silver coins during this period was that they contained too much silver. The British were operating under the incorrect assumption that coins derived their value from their melt value. Economists call this “The commodity theory of money.” Therefore the weight of the British silver was at little less than melt, given a small allowance for the expense of striking them. As soon as the price of silver increased, the coins naturally disappeared from circulation. Something similar happened to U.S. silver coins that are dated 1964 and earlier. That was what happened to the 1787. The shillings and sixpences were given out as gifts, but they didn’t circulate. Therefore the coins are common today. An 1816 King George III "reform" sixpence. An 1817 George III "reform" shilling In 1816 the British finally realized that a coin did not derive its value from its melt value. The new, lower weight silver coins when into circulation and stayed there. The British would not need to address the issue again until the World War I era.
