Fourpence (British coin) Victoria, designed by Joseph Boehm – the reverse is unchanged. There also exists a pattern coin, dated 1836, which bears the same obverse as the William IV issue coins, but has a different reverse, designed by William Wyon, which has the inscription instead of the words . Fourpence (British coin) The pre-decimal fourpence (4d), sometimes known as a groat (from Dutch "grootpennig" = "big penny") or fourpenny bit, was a coin worth one sixtieth of a pound sterling, or four pence. The coin was also known as a joey after the MP Joseph Hume, who spoke in favour of its
Penny (British pre-decimal coin) that the coins would be significantly larger than the silver pennies minted previously. The large size of the coins, combined with the thick rim where the inscription was incuse i.e. punched into the metal rather than standing proud of it, led to the coins being nicknamed "cartwheels". These pennies were minted over the course of several years, but all are marked with the date 1797. By 1802, the production of privately issued provincial tokens had ceased. However, in the next ten years the intrinsic value of copper rose. The return of privately minted token coinage was evident by 1811 and