Groat (coin) Groat (coin) The groat is the traditional name of a long-defunct English and Irish silver coin worth four pence, and also a Scottish coin originally worth fourpence, with later issues being valued at eightpence and one shilling. The name has also been applied to any thick or large coin, such as the "Groschen" ("grosso"), a silver coin issued by Tyrol in 1271 and Venice in the 13th century, which was the first of this general size to circulate in the Holy Roman Empire and other parts of Europe. The immediate ancestor to the groat was the French "gros tournois" or
Junk silver be subject to extreme inflation, even hyperinflation, similar to Weimar Germany, post-WWII Hungary and, more recently, Zimbabwe and Venezuela. Proponents of junk silver and other precious metals claim that, while fiat currencies have historically been subject to hyperinflation, precious metals will always have inherent value and can act as a medium of financial exchange when fiat currencies are obsolete. Some coin collectors and investors are also informally using the term "junk copper" to refer to any copper-bullion coins of no numismatic value. Prominent examples include U.S. pennies minted before 1982 (partial), Canadian pennies minted before 1997, and some pre-euro copper