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Soho Mint was created by
In order to differentiate his proposed copper coins from counterfeits Boulton specified them as follows:
;
Their weight in pure copper should be so close to the intrinsic value of the material that counterfeiting would be uneconomic. The diameter was made strictly defined by striking within a collar so that diameter, thickness and weight could be used to prove the quality of the metal.
In 1797 the first, and only, copper 
Britain's Cartwheel Coinage of 1797sohomint.info
A website celebrating Matthew Boulton, his mint and its products {{Authority control 1788 establishments in England History of Birmingham, West Midlands Mints of the United Kingdom British companies established in 1788
Soho Mint was created by Matthew Boulton
Matthew Boulton (; 3 September 172817 August 1809) was an English manufacturer and business partner of Scottish engineer James Watt. In the final quarter of the 18th century, the partnership installed hundreds of Boulton & Watt steam engin ...
in 1788 in his Soho Manufactory
The Soho Manufactory () was an early factory which pioneered mass production on the assembly line principle, in Soho, Birmingham, England, at the beginning of the Industrial Revolution. It operated from 1766–1848 and was demolished in 1853.
Be ...
() in Handsworth, West Midlands
Handsworth () is a suburb and an inner-city area of Birmingham in the West Midlands. Historically in Staffordshire, Handsworth lies just outside Birmingham City Centre and near the town of Smethwick.
History
The name ''Handsworth'' origina ...
, England. A mint
MiNT is Now TOS (MiNT) is a free software alternative operating system kernel for the Atari ST system and its successors. It is a multi-tasking alternative to TOS and MagiC. Together with the free system components fVDI device drivers, XaA ...
was erected at the manufactory containing eight machines, to his own patent design, driven by steam engine
A steam engine is a heat engine that performs mechanical work using steam as its working fluid. The steam engine uses the force produced by steam pressure to push a piston back and forth inside a cylinder. This pushing force can be trans ...
, each capable of striking 70 to 85 coins per minute.
In addition to copper domestic coins, silver coins were made for some of the colonies, and various trade tokens and medals were struck.''Old and New Birmingham: A History of the Town and its People'', Robert Kirkup Dent, Published by Houghton and Hammond, Scotland Passage, Birmingham, 1880 Among the medals produced were the Seringapatam medal, made for the East India Company
The East India Company (EIC) was an English, and later British, joint-stock company founded in 1600 and dissolved in 1874. It was formed to trade in the Indian Ocean region, initially with the East Indies (the Indian subcontinent and Southea ...
in 1801–2 to reward participants of the Battle of Seringapatam
A battle is an occurrence of combat in warfare between opposing military units of any number or size. A war usually consists of multiple battles. In general, a battle is a military engagement that is well defined in duration, area, and for ...
, and a medal for the Battle of Trafalgar
The Battle of Trafalgar (21 October 1805) was a naval engagement between the British Royal Navy and the combined fleets of the French and Spanish Navies during the War of the Third Coalition (August–December 1805) of the Napoleonic Wars (180 ...
, which Matthew Boulton produced at his own expense and gave to all those present at the 1805 battle.
After the demise of the Soho Mint some of the machinery was bought at auction, in 1850, by the new Birmingham Mint
The Birmingham Mint was a coining mint and metal-working company based in Birmingham, England. Formerly the world's largest privately-owned mint, the company produced coins for many foreign nations including France, Italy, China, and much of the ...
of Ralph Heaton II.
Cartwheel penny
The common coinage, copper halfpennies, was subject to severe counterfeiting. No copper coinage had been issued by theRoyal Mint
The Royal Mint is the United Kingdom's oldest company and the official maker of British coins.
Operating under the legal name The Royal Mint Limited, it is a limited company that is wholly owned by His Majesty's Treasury and is under an exclus ...
since 1754 apart from inadequate issues of halfpence and farthings from 1770 to 1775.
In order to differentiate his proposed copper coins from counterfeits Boulton specified them as follows:
;twopence
The British twopence (2''d'') ( or ) coin was a denomination of sterling coinage worth two pennies or of a pound. It was a short-lived denomination in copper, being minted in only 1797 by Matthew Boulton's Soho Mint.
These coins were made ...
: weight, diameter 8 to the foot ()
;penny
A penny is a coin ( pennies) or a unit of currency (pl. pence) in various countries. Borrowed from the Carolingian denarius (hence its former abbreviation d.), it is usually the smallest denomination within a currency system. Presently, it is t ...
:, diameter 17 to two feet ()
; half-penny:, diameter 10 to a foot ()
;farthing
Farthing or farthings may refer to:
Coinage
*Farthing (British coin), an old British coin valued one quarter of a penny
** Half farthing (British coin)
** Third farthing (British coin)
** Quarter farthing (British coin)
* Farthing (English ...
:, diameter 12 to a foot ()
Their weight in pure copper should be so close to the intrinsic value of the material that counterfeiting would be uneconomic. The diameter was made strictly defined by striking within a collar so that diameter, thickness and weight could be used to prove the quality of the metal.
In 1797 the first, and only, copper twopence
The British twopence (2''d'') ( or ) coin was a denomination of sterling coinage worth two pennies or of a pound. It was a short-lived denomination in copper, being minted in only 1797 by Matthew Boulton's Soho Mint.
These coins were made ...
and the first penny coins were produced under contract although the smaller denominations did not follow until later.''British Coins Market Values'', Link House Magazines Ltd, 1993, These coins were comparatively large, having a broad raised rim with the inscription pressed below the surface and became known as the ''cartwheel'' pennies. Over 45 million were struck in two years.Victor Skipp
The name Victor or Viktor may refer to:
* Victor (name), including a list of people with the given name, mononym, or surname
Arts and entertainment
Film
* ''Victor'' (1951 film), a French drama film
* ''Victor'' (1993 film), a French shor ...
, ''A History of Greater Birmingham - down to 1830'', 1980.
See also
* British halfpenny coin regarding counterfeit coinage *History of mints
A mint is an industrial facility which manufacturing, manufactures coins that can be used as currency.
The history of mints correlates closely with the history of coins. In the beginning, hammered coinage or cast coinage were the chief means ...
*History of the British penny (1714-1901)
The British pre-decimal penny was a denomination of sterling coinage worth of one pound or of one shilling. Its symbol was ''d'', from the Roman denarius. It was a continuation of the earlier English penny, and in Scotland it had the same mon ...
* ''Old Bess'', a steam engine at the Mint
References
External links
Britain's Cartwheel Coinage of 1797
A website celebrating Matthew Boulton, his mint and its products {{Authority control 1788 establishments in England History of Birmingham, West Midlands Mints of the United Kingdom British companies established in 1788