November 26, 2024

Part 8
Twelve Pence to a Shilling
Queen Elizabeth II

     Although one twenty-fourth of a shilling coins were not minted during Queen Elizabeth's reign, Jersey issued various coins including two new denominations:  a one fourth of a shilling and a five shillings crown.  During this time, three commemorative one twelfth of a shilling coins were also struck.  These were the Island Liberation issue, the 300th Anniversary of Accession of King Charles II issue, and the 900th Anniversary of the Norman Conquest commemorative issue.  Two other commemoratives were also struck for the Norman Conquest occasion:  as mentioned earlier a five shillings coin and a one fourth of a shilling coin. 

      The obverse depicts Cecil Thomas' famous crowned portrait of the H.M. Queen Elizabeth II.  This design also appears on the coins from Belize, Bermuda, British Eastern Caribbean Territories, British Honduras, British West Africa, Cyprus, East Africa, Fiji, Ghana, Hong Kong, Jamaica, Malaya and British Borneo, Mauritius, Nigeria, and Seychelles.  The obverse has a simple legend of “QUEEN ELIZABETH THE SECOND.”  The reverse of each coin is a slight modification of Kruger-Gray's shield design.

Things to note about this series:

QueenE1Photograph This portrait of the Queen is adapted from a painting by Pietro Annigoni and can be found on the banknotes issued during the 1960s.  The portrait is regarded by many as one of the finest portrayals of the young Queen. 

Isle of Man, Malta, Rhodesia, Trinidad and Tobago, Seychelles,
East Caribbean States, Mauritius, and Fiji used this portrait
on their banknotes too.

The New Coinage for Other Parts of the Commonwealth and Empire
from the
Royal Mint Annual Report 1953 Volume No.84
Coins bearing the Queen's Effigy were struck for the following parts of the Commonwealth and Empire during the year.

Uncrowned Effigy:   New Zealand and Southern Rhodesia.
Crowned Effigy:       Fiji, Jamaica, Malaya, Mauritius, Seychelles

It has become well established practice that coins bearing the crowned effigy of the Sovereign shall not be issued before that Sovereign's Coronation. Accordingly, coins on order from British East Africa, and British West Africa, due In whole or in part for despatch before 2nd June 1953, bore the Crowned Effigy of His Late Majesty, and the date 1952.

In the past, there have been a variety of inscriptions on the coins of the various Dependent Territories. For example, at the end of the reign of His-Majesty King George VI, although the coins of most Territories bore the inscription "KING GEORGE THE SIXTH", the coins of Cyprus, British West Africa and East Africa did not follow the majority in this respect. Indeed, the inscription on the perforated coins of British West Africa was different from that on the coins bearing the crowned Effigy.

Investigation showed that there was little reason for this variation in present circumstances, and Her Majesty therefore approved the suggestion that all the coins of the new Reign in the Dependent Territories should have the inscription "QUEEN ELIZABETH THE SECOND".

It was subsequently agreed that the same inscription should be used on the coins of Jersey, which bear a crowned Effigy.

      If you look carefully, there are many things to discover on these coins. Take a look at the following image taken from a 1960 penny.
missing image       Be sure to click on the letter icon  Letter image to see images using a digital microscope.


One Twelfth of a Shilling
1945 Liberation Commemorative
(click on image to enlarge)
missing image missing image
    Year    J#    KM#   Mintage  Diameter  
    1945    29    20    720,000   30.80  no image missing image 
      For the first coins depicting the new Queen, it was decided to continue using the same reverse as the previous coinage.

Things to note:

One Twelfth of a Shilling
1957 and 1964
(click on image to enlarge)
missing image missing image
    Year    J#    KM#   Mintage  Diameter   
    1957    30    21    720,000   30.80  no image missing image    
    1964    32        1,200,000   30.80  no image missing image      
      In 1957 the coinage was re-designed with a couple of minor but important changes.  Since there were adverse comments on the Queen's name appearing upside down, the effigy is now smaller and moved downward, while the legend is now centered around the top.  For the reverse, the title of the Island is now “THE BAILIWICK OF JERSEY.” 

Things to note:

One Twelfth of a Shilling
1960 300th Anniversary of Accession of King Charles II
(click on image to enlarge)
missing image missing image
    Year    J#    KM#   Mintage  Diameter  
    1960    31    23  1,200,000   30.80  no image missing image  
     After the execution of Charles I in 1649, Jersey was the first place to proclaim his son King Charles II.  (It was not until the end of the English Civil War in 1660, that he was actually crowned king in England.)  On November 28, 1663, King Charles II presented to the Bailiff of Jersey the Royal Mace in gratitude for the loyalty and kindness he received during his two stays on the Island during the Civil War.  The Royal Mace is considered by many as one of the finest maces of the 17th century.  It consists of 11 pieces and is made of silver gilt.  The mace is 4' 9.5" long and weighs over 237 ounces (14 pounds, 13 ounces).  This coin commemorates his stay in Jersey.

      The existing penny design was altered on the reverse, having a smaller central shield, surrounded on the lower half with the inscription "CIIR 1660-1960 EIIR". The amended design was hand engraved on a prepared matrix. The specification was otherwise unchanged.

missing image
This portrait of the Queen,
which is regarded by many as one
of the finest portrayals of the young Queen,
is adapted from a painting by Pietro Annigoni
and can be found on the Jersey banknotes
issued during the 1960s.

Isle of Man, Malta, Rhodesia,
Trinidad and Tobago, Seychelles,
East Caribbean States, Mauritius,
and Fiji also used this portrait
on their banknotes.
    Charles II while in Jersey wrote a letter to establish a mint in Jersey.4
Two days before Charles left Jersey he issued an Order to establish a mint in the island. Four years earlier, when he had been here as Prince, an attempt had been made to do this, but the man put in charge had proved a rogue who turned out spurious money, and this effort had to be hurriedly suppressed and hushed up. But a King ought to have a coinage, and Jersey was the only part of his dominions that still acknowledged him; so on 11 February 1650 he issued detailed orders for the Mint to be re-established:

CHARLES R
"Charles by the grace of God, King of England, Scotland, France, and Ireland, Defendor of the faith, etc. To our trusty and well beloved Sir George Carteret, Knight and Baronet, Lieutenant Governor of our Isle of Jersey, and to all others to whom these presents shall come, Greeting. Wheaeas we conceive it very necessary for our Service and for the good of that our Island of Jersey, that a Mint should be presently erected and established there for the making and coyning of such sortes and species of money as are by these presents hereafter specified. Know ye now, that we reposing trust and confidence in discretion, integrity, and good affection of you the said Sir George Carteret, Doe by these presents give you full power and authority to establish and erect a Mint in our said Isle of Jersey, in such place or part thereof as you shall thinke fitt, And to cause the severall species of Gold and Silver moneys hereafter mentioned to be minted, coyned, and stamped there ; That is to say one peece of gold of the value of twenty shillings sterling; one piece of the value of ten shillings sterling; and one other piece of the value of five shillings sterling; and of Silver one piece of the value of five shillings sterling; one other piece of the value of two shillings six pence sterling ; one other piece of the value of one shilling or twelve pence sterling; and one other piece of six pence sterling. All the said severall species to be of the same weight and fmenesse with the like species, usually heretofore minted and coyned in England, That is to say the gold money according to the weight and fmeness of the same species usually heretofore made in England and of the silver money every pound weight thereof to contain eleven ounces, two penny weight of fme silver, and eight teene penny weight of alley; The said species above mentioned to be made and stamped with our image and inscription in such manner and forme as we have now sent the same unto you, Further heereby authorizing you to make choise of such Officers, Moneyers, and W orkemen, as you shall conceive must necessarily be employed for the governing, ordering, and directing the said Mint, and for the making and coyning the said severall species of Moneys above mentioned. Provided that for such gold and silver bullion, as shall not belong to Us, or to you the Lieutenant Governor for the use of the Garrison but shall be brough in by others to be coyned for their particular advantage, such dues and rights of Signorage be made payable to Us upon the coyning of the said moneys as shalbe just and reasonable. Giving you further power to doe, settle, and establish all such other things concerning the premisses, as shalbe necessary for our service, and for the good, and benefit of our Garrison, and other subjects in that Isle. Given at our Court in Jersey, the r rth day of february, 1649. In the second yeare of our Reigne."

But whether Carteret felt 'once bitten, twice shy', or whether he was overwhelmed with problems of defense, or whether the King omitted to send any gold or silver to be coined, no steps seem to have been taken to obey this command.
Things to note:
  • The Coinage Act of 1961 authorized this coinage.
  • In 1961 1,200 proof coins (600 sets) were made.9  A first order of 800 coins was completed by the end of February, while a second order of 400 coins was completed late in September.
  • In 1962 1,000 proof coins (500 sets) were made.10 
  • In 1963 1,400 proof coins (700 sets) were made. (Note, although there is no mention of any Jersey proof sets in the Royal Mint Annual Report 1963 Volume 94, there is a very good accounting of 700 sets being minted during 1963 in the Mint 20/4132 records.5 
  • The total mintage for the proof coins is 3,6005.  Krause has reported mintage of 4,200 for this proof issue and is incorrect.  

One Twelfth of a Shilling
Obverse of the 1961 British Caribbean Territories Two Cents with
the Reverse of the 1960 Jersey One Twelfth of a Shilling
(click on image to enlarge)
missing image missing image
    Year    J#    KM#   Mintage  Diameter  
    1960    31B   24       ??     30.80  no image 
     These coins were produced when the Royal Mint accidentally used a wrong obverse die when minting the 1960 proof sets.  At first glance, the incorrect die appears to be the one used on the 1945 Liberation issue.  However, the Royal Mint destroyed these dies when the new design was introduced in 1957.  The incorrect die is a British Caribbean Territories two cents die. The British Caribbean Territories two cents coin was the only coin of the same size, weight and alloy of the Jersey penny and incidentally had the inscription below the effigy.  Although proof specimens of the British Caribbean Territories two cents coin and the Jersey penny were struck at the Royal Mint in each of the years 1961, 1962, and 1963, there was only one time, viz. from August the 8th through the 22nd, 1961 when obverse dies of both coins were held in the coin processing room die store.5  Evidently it was during this time period when the Royal Mint manufactured eighteen two cents proof coins for the Mint Museum, which this die was inadvertently used for the Jersey coins.  As for the number of coins produce, an exact number is impossible to determine.  However, it would be reasonable to assume that some coins were produced after August 22 and until late September when the order was completed.  Also, we can assume that some coins were produced before August 8 and that striking continued concurrently with the striking of the Caribbean two cents coins.  These mule coins are a tiny sub-set of the total mintage and thus, this coin is a modern rarity. 

Things to note:
QueenE2Photograph Jersey's second series of banknotes depicts this portrait of Her Majesty.  This portrait of Her Majesty is adapted from a photograph taken prior to a Royal Tour of India and Pakistan.  This is one of the more widely used images of The Queen. 

A Letter from the Royal Mint Explaining the Problem
missing image

One Twelfth of a Shilling
1966 Norman Conquest Commemorative
(click on image to enlarge)
missing image missing image
    Year    J#    KM#   Mintage  Diameter 
    1966    33    26  1,200,000   30.80  no image missing image  
      In 1966, Jersey celebrated the 900th anniversary of the Norman Conquest and its unique links with England.  The Island has “peculiar” privileges obtained through a series of royal charters which has resulted in Jersey being officially known in the constitutional terms as “A Peculiar of the Crown.”  In 1204, King John lost his lands in Normandy to the French but, Jersey and the other Channel Islands, which were also part of the Duchy of Normandy, sided with the King and Jersey has remained predominantly royalist since that time.  These coins were minted to mark this special anniversary.

Things to note:

One Twelfth of a Shilling
Obverse of the 1966 Jersey One Twelfth of a Shilling
the Reverse of the 1966 British Penny
missing image
In 1966 over 157 million British pennies were struck in the lead-up to decimalisation, compared to the 1.2 million Jersey 1⁄12 of a shilling minted. There was apparently a mix-up during production of the coins as a small number of 1966 British pennies were struck with the obverse of the Jersey 1⁄12 of a shilling. Just two examples of mule are known, though it is not known whether they were found in Great Britain or Jersey.

One example was sold as lot 124 in the Colin Cooke auction of The James Workman Superior Collection of Pennies Part 2 in November 2010. The coin received 10 bids and the hammer price was for £2100.


One Fourth of a Shilling
1957 and 1960
(click on image to enlarge)
missing image missing image
    Year    J#    KM#   Mintage  Diameter
    1957    60    22  2,000,000   21.05  no image
    1960    61A  Proof    3,600          no image
The reverse is an adaptation of Mr. Kruger Gray's design of 1931, showing a shield of arms with the inscription 'BAILIWICK OF JERSEY" with the date split with "19" on the left of the shield and "57" on the right. The coin is nickel-brass with a plain edge. Things to note:

One Fourth of a Shilling
1964
(click on image to enlarge)
missing image missing image
    Year    J#    KM#   Mintage  Diameter
    1964    62    25  1,200,000   21.10  no image   
New matrices were prepared from preparing punches of the former circular design. The duodecagonal shape was machine-engraved on the matrices and working punches and dies produced.

Things to note:

One Fourth of a Shilling
1966 Norman Conquest Commemorative
(click on image to enlarge)
missing image missing image
    Year    J#    KM#   Mintage  Diameter
    1966    63    27  1,200,000   21.10  no image   
Things to note:

Five Shillings
1966 Norman Conquest Commemorative
(click on image to enlarge)
missing image missing image
    Year    J#    KM#   Mintage  Diameter
    1966    64    28    300,000   38.60  no image 

missing image The Two Initial Designs7

missing image The Two Revised Designs8
      As early as August 21, 1964, the Treasurer of the States, F.N. Padgham, had contacted the Royal Mint concerning the production of this particular crown.  The initial requirements were:
  • pieces to be cupro-nickel, milled, same weight and size as U.K. crowns
  • obverse and reverse designs to be similar to Jersey penny but with inscription “BAILIWICK OF JERSEY - FIVE SHILLINGS - 1066-1966”
  • 100,000 pieces for general circulation
  • 30,000 pieces from polished dies were required
      After reviewing two designs, the States on April 20, 1965, made two suggestions.  First, the States desired a decrease in the size of the shield since it was rather big.  Second, the States requested the lettering to be similar to that of the 1870 penny (so much so that an 1870 penny was forwarded to the mint for review.)

      Of the two designs, the Royal Mint adapted sketch “B” with the two modifications.  The first modification was to reverse the positions of “BAILIWICK OF JERSEY” and “FIVE SHILLINGS” so that the former was below the shield and the latter above it.  The second modification was to slightly reduce the size of the lettering. 
      The cost of a proof set to the States was 5/- for each coin and 3/6 for the case.  Originally, the Mint quoted the States a price of 2/6d for each crown, however the States wanted a “Grade 4” coin versus a “Grade 3.”  Per the Royal Mint documents, “It is essential that these proof coins should be acceptable in America, and we are therefore agreeable to them being produced by the former method and are prepared to pay the extra price of 2/6d per coin.”6  In 1967 British dealers were selling the Jersey proof crown set for around £4. 

      The cost of the general circulation issue was £40/10/0 per thousand.  These coins were “going so well” that an additional 200,000 pieces were ordered on May 31, 1966.  Things to note:

missing stamp image
In 1977, Jersey issued this stamp featuring this coin
for the "Centenary of Currency Reform."

missing image Jersey's third set of banknotes uses this portrait, which is copied from a painting by Norman Hepple.  The portrait shows Her Majesty's attire in the regalia of the Order of the Garter and was commissioned by the States of Jersey.  The original painting hangs in the entrance to the Jersey States Chamber in the States Building, St. Helier, Jersey.

missing image 12O_mule60L

The Obverse from a 1960 One Fourth of a Shilling

missing image 12R_mule60L

The Reverse from a 1960 Commemorative Penny

missing image 3O_60L

The Obverse from a 1960 One Fourth of a Shilling

missing image 3R_60L

The Reverse from a 1960 One Fourth of a Shilling


1.  Royal Mint Annual Report 1958 Volume 89, pp. 12.

2.  Royal Mint Annual Report 1964 Volume 95, pp. 26.

3.  Royal Mint Annual Report 1965 Volume 96, pp. 12.

4.  Some Letters of Charles II to Jersey, Annual Bulletin of La Société Jersiaise. 1952.

5.  MINT 20/4132, Jersey:  error in manufacture of 1d coins in 1960 proof sets.  1968 Jan 01 - 1970 Dec 31.  The Public Record Office, Kew, Richmond, Surrey, UK. Of interest see these two pages:
5.  MINT 20/4132, Jersey:  error in manufacture of 1d coins in 1960 proof sets.  1968 Jan 01 - 1970 Dec 31.  The Public Record Office, Kew, Richmond, Surrey, UK.

6.  MINT 20/3031, Jersey:  Crown pieces.  1964-1965.  The Public Record Office, Kew, Richmond, Surrey, UK.

7.  Royal Mint Advisory Committee 152nd Meeting 29 April 1965.

8.  Royal Mint Advisory Committee 153rd Meeting 10 June 1965.

9.  Royal Mint Annual Report 1961 Volume 92, pp. 10.

10.  Royal Mint Annual Report 1962 Volume 93, pp. 12.

11.  Royal Mint Annual Report 1954 Volume 85, pp. 6.


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Twelve Pence to a Shilling - Queen Victoria,
Twelve Pence to a Shilling - King Edward VII,
Twelve Pence to a Shilling - King George V,
Twelve Pence to a Shilling - King George VI,
Twelve Pence to a Shilling - Queen Elizabeth II,

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