Groat (English coin)

For other uses, seeGroat.

Asilvergroat from the reign ofEdward I of England(1272–1307)

Thegroatis the traditional name of a defunctEnglishandIrishsilvercoinworth fourpence,and also aScottish coinwhich was originally worth fourpence, with later issues being valued at eightpence and oneshilling.

Name

The name has also been applied to any thick or large coin, such as theGroschen(grosso), a silver coin issued byTyrolin 1271 andVenicein the 13th century, which was the first of this general size to circulate in theHoly Roman Empireand other parts of Europe. The immediate ancestor to the groat was theFrenchgros tournoisor groat ofTours,which was known as thegroot(Dutch for "great" or "large" ) in theNetherlands.

The name also refers toa range of other European coinssuch as those of the Italian peninsula known as agrossoincluding thegrosso of Veniceand theKraków groszinPoland.Marco Poloreferred to the groat in recounts of his travels to East Asia when describing the currencies of theYuan Empire.His descriptions were based on the conversion of 1bezant= 20 groats =133+1⁄3tornesel.

History

David II of Scotland
++DAVID x REX x SCOTORVm Crowned bust left holding sceptre before; star at base of sceptre	Outer circle: +DNS PTECTOR MS F LIBATOR MS - inner circle: VILL A ED InBV RGh Long cross quartered with of five points mullets.
AR Groat (3.11 g). Light coinage, 1367-1371. Edinburgh mint.

Edward III
Minted: London, Series: B, Years Minted: 1351 - 1361 (Courtesy of Guillelmus Thompson, Owner of Coins of Britannia)

Henry VIII: Irish groat
Henry VIII minted these Irish groats, crowned coat-of-arms over cross fourchee; mm: trefoil	FRAnCIE ET hIBERnIE REX, crowned harp; crowned h and crowned R flanking (henricus Rex).
AR Groat (25 mm, 2.32 g, 12h). Second harp issue, as king of Ireland, 1541-1542. London mint (exported).

Elizabeth I: Irish groat
ELIZABETH·D·G·ANG·FRA·Z·HIB:REGIN (Elizabeth by the Grace of God, of England, France and Ireland Queen)	POSVI·DEV·ADIVTOREM·MEV (I have made God my helper)
AR Groat (2.82 g).

It was after the French silver coin had circulated in England that an English groat was first minted underKing Edward I.

Scottish groats were not issued until the reign ofDavid II.Scots groatswere originally also worth fourpence, but later issues were valued at eightpence and ashilling.

Irish groats were minted first in 1425 and the last ones were minted under the reign ofElizabeth I of England.There were also two more issues, both emergency coinage.

Since thepound sterlingor 240 pence was based from the 12th century on a Tower Pound or 5,400 grains (350 g) of sterling or 0.925 fine silver, the English groat or fourpence therefore contained 90 grains (5.8 g) of sterling silver. Later issues became progressively lighter: 72 grains (4.7 g) in 1351 underEdward III,60 grains (3.9 g) in 1412 underHenry IV,and 48 grains (3.1 g) in 1464 underEdward IV.From 1544 to 1560 (the weight being reduced to 32 grains (2.1 g) in 1559) the silver fineness was less than sterling, and after the 1561 issue they were not generally issued for circulation again for about a hundred years.

From the reigns ofCharles IItoGeorge III,groats (by now often known as fourpences) were issued on an irregular basis for general circulation, the only years of mintage after 1786 being in 1792, 1795, and 1800. After this the only circulating issues were from 1836 to 1855, with proofs known from 1857 and 1862, and a colonial issue of 1888. These last coins had the weight further reduced to about 27 grains (1.9grams) and were the same diameter as the silver threepenny pieces of the day although thicker. They also hadBritanniaon the reverse, while all other silver fourpenny pieces since the reign ofWilliam andMaryhave had a crowned numeral "4" as the reverse, including the silver fourpennyMaundy moneycoins of the present. Some groats continued to circulate inScotlanduntil the 20th century.

At times in the past, silver twopenny coins have been called "half-groats".

The groat ceased to be minted in theUnited Kingdomin 1856, but in 1888 a special request was made for a colonial variety to be minted for use inBritish Guianaand theBritish West Indies.The groat remained in circulation in British Guiana right up until that territory adopted thedecimalsystem in 1955.

Groats are still issued in sets ofMaundy coinage.

Royal Navy chaplains

In the 1600s and 1700s,chaplainswere employed inEnglish Navyships of warby the captain, and paid out of a groat per month deducted from the wages of the seamen. The Navy's wages did not rise between 1653 and 1797 (seeSpithead and Nore mutinies), during which time theordinary seamanwas paid 19shillings,as was the chaplain.

See also

• British coinage
• Scottish coinage
• Lee Penny (talisman)
• Gros (coinage)
• Groschen
• Kuruş
• Venetian grosso

References

• Brewer's Dictionary of Phrase and Fable(1898)
• Grueber, Herbert Appold (1899),Handbook of the Coins of Great Britain and Ireland in the British Museum,London: The British Museum
• James Mackay - John Mussel (eds.): Coin Price Guide to British coins, Token Publishing Ltd, Axminster, Devon
• Ian Halley Stewart. The Scottish Coinage, Spink & Son, Londra, 1955

External links

• "Groat".Encyclopedia Americana.1920.