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
Coin inflation, as market values for the metal overtake the fiat declared face value of the coin. Examples are the pre-1965 US dime, quarter, half dollar, and dollar (nominally containing slightly less than a tenth, quarter, half, and full ounce of silver, respectively), US nickel, and pre-1982 US penny. As a result of the increase in the value of copper, the United States greatly reduced the amount of copper in each penny. Since mid-1982, United States pennies are made of 97.5% zinc, with the remaining 2.5% being a coating of copper. Extreme differences between fiat values and metal values of coins