Perhaps I'll be the first then For a similar shilling-size silver coin minted in Germany - I've seen a figure of abuth 44,000 for each die and 66,000 for a coin about the same size as the six pence. But if the dies were not properly hardened the production figures would drop considerably (fx half of the above). So my guess is either that's just what happened; or the production figures were higher than my sources indicate. A History of Modern English Coinage (by James Mackay - Longman 1984) "In 1787, when the market price of silver dropped substantially, some £87,000 worth was coined for general circulation, mainly in shillings and sixpences." [guess the figure includes guineas?] The Splendid Shilling (by James O'Donald Mays - New Forest Leaves 1982) "In 1787 the price of silver declined slightly and the Bank of England ordered £55,280 in new coins from the Mint" ...and just found this which includes the sixpence figure http://www.numsoc.net/sixpence.html "The silver coinage of 1787 was ordered, not by the Government for general circulation, but by the Bank of England for distribution at Christmas to its favoured customers. As the price of the silver required was consistently above the Mint price of 5/2d an ounce, the coins were struck at a loss, which the Bank accepted. £55,280 worth of silver at the mint price was turned into 746,480 shillings and 712,380 sixpences at a loss of more than £1,100. Each coin was struck carefully to the highest standards achievable with the manually powered presses of the time." Guineas are made of gold