Minted :Telling the story of changing British rulers By exploring 10 SIGNIFICANT coins

Can you…? Sequence the coins in date order? Match the captions to each coin? Work out from the clues why each coin has been chosen and what story it tells? Think about what other important stories of how Britain was ruled are not told by the coins here?

A

B

C

D

E

F

G

H

J

K

Captions answers A. Rupee for 1877 the first year in which Victori had the title Empress of India B. Half crown (12p) from the Irish Free State 1928 C . Silver shilling from 1651. First coin to use English rather than Latin D. Roman coin from AD 138-61, emperor Antoninus Pius who built the Antonine wall

Captions E. From reign of Henry VII, written in Latin, the first coin to show a good likeness of the king’s face. F. Athelstan, probably the first coin using the term REX ANG, King of England, 825-40 G. William the Conqueror 1066-87. Note his use of Runic letter instead of a W so it looks like Pillelm Rex. H. Euro 2002

Captions J. George II shilling showing him as King of GB, France, Ireland as well as Holy Roman Emperor. DB stands for Duke of Brunswick (1758) K On the reverse of a gold coin Charles I swore to defend the Protestant religion, the laws of England and the liberties of Parliament 1644.

What was the significance of each coin? A. Britain at height of imperial power in 1877 B. Division of Ireland in the early 1920s. This coin comes from the Irish Free State of the south. C. Interregnum 1650s. Obviously using Latin was too close to Catholicism for Cromwell D. Roman occupation after 43AD. Note similarity with 20th C coins E. This shows the first real likeness to a king. It is Henry VII who brought the Houses of Lancaster and York together after the Wars of the Rose. On later coins, starting with Henry VII’s son, the monarch was referred to as FD or Fid def - Defender of the Faith

Significance - 2 F. First King of England? Athelstan in the early 9th century G. First letter of William the Conquerors’ name written in Runic script, showing Viking links. H. Euro . The odd one out. Countries using Euro put their own symbol on the reverse. What should it be for England? J. So often pupils don’t know about the Hanoverian succession and the German influence on the royal families up to the First World War. K. Fascinating attempt to get Charles I to keep Protestant religion, Parliamentary liberties (and his word!) during the English Civil War

Credits © We are grateful to the British Museum for permission to reproduce images of these coins and to Numismatica Ars Classica for permission to use images from their sales catalogues