Episode 3326
William IV's British coinage
Sat, 2026-Jun-13 00:10 UTC
Length - 2:11
Direct Link
Welcome to featured Wiki of the Day, your daily dose of knowledge from Wikipedia's finest articles.
The featured article for Saturday, 13 June 2026, is William IV's British coinage.
The British coinage struck under William IV (r. 1830–1837) ranged in denomination from the double sovereign (£2) to the third farthing (1⁄12 of a penny, 1⁄2880 of a pound) though the former was not minted for circulation and the latter struck only for colonial use. The coins have an obverse by William Wyon based on a sketch by Francis Chantrey, and reverses by Wyon and Jean Baptiste Merlen, both of the Royal Mint.
Preparation for William's coinage began even before he became king in June 1830, probably because Wyon was anxious to head off a potential challenge from his rival, Benedetto Pistrucci. Wyon's work was viewed by William, who liked it and ordered it to be used exclusively for coins during his reign; it was also used on his coronation medal. The designs were formally approved in early 1831, and coining began later that year.
In addition to the issues for use in Britain, several small denominations of sterling were struck during William's reign for colonial use. Two of these, the half farthing and silver threepence, were later issued for use in Britain. William's reign saw no great innovations in coinage, but marked the start of reform at the Royal Mint.
This recording reflects the Wikipedia text as of 00:10 UTC on Saturday, 13 June 2026.
For the full current version of the article, see William IV's British coinage on Wikipedia.
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Until next time, I'm neural Salli.
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