1860s replacement of the British copper coinage information
1837 William IV copper halfpenny, worn and oxidised
Beginning in 1860 and continuing for several years, Britain replaced its copper coinage with bronze pieces. The copper coins (principally the penny, halfpenny and farthing) had been struck since 1797 in a variety of sizes. The copper metal wore or oxidised, or had advertising punched into it, and there were also counterfeits and foreign coins in circulation.
The state of the copper coinage was ascertained by a survey done in 1856 and 1857 in connection with the Royal Commission on Decimal Coinage. Whilst the commission recommended no action on moving toward decimalisation, the Master of the Mint, Thomas Graham, persuaded the Chancellor of the Exchequer, William Gladstone, that it would be an opportune time to replace the copper coinage with lighter coins of bronze, which would be more durable. Gladstone secured authorising legislation and a vote of funds in parliament. The chief engraver of the Royal Mint, Leonard Charles Wyon, was tasked with rendering designs for the new coinage.
Wyon produced an obverse for the new coins depicting Queen Victoria, who modelled for him multiple times, and who let her views be known, leading to delays as Wyon sought to secure her approval. The reverse side of the coin featured Britannia, as Wyon had been directed. With the aid of two outside firms, the Royal Mint struck sufficient of the new bronze coins that it started calling in the copper coins in 1861, a process complete after 1877, though less than half, in terms of value, of the extant coppers were paid in. The new coins remained current until the run-up to decimalisation in 1971, though the farthing was demonetised earlier.
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