Summary

Silver coin; Denomination: Penny, Maundy
Royal Mint, London
William III (1694-1702)

Struck in 1698 for the Maundy Thursday ceremonies of William III. It was, and remains, the practice that on the day before Good Friday the monach would give gifts to selected poor people. The number of people and the size of the gift is governed by the age of the King or Queen, if, for example, the King is twenty years old then twenty people would receive twenty pence. Maundy coins, as they are called, come in denominations of four, three, two and one penny. The four denominations with the same date is called a Maundy Set.

This coin is part of a Maundy Set of 1698 which comes from the collection of the Melbourne Branch of the Royal Mint, transferred to the Museum in 1978 after the Mint had closed. It is believed the Mint acquired it for their display at the 1880 Melbourne International Exhibition and re-used it in the 1888 Exhibition.

Obverse Description

Laureate bust of the King facing right; around, GVLIELMVS III DEI GRA

Reverse Description

Crowned small numeral I; around, MAG BR FRA ET HIB REX 1698, the date being divided by the crown

Edge Description

Plain

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