need help

[Guest dana]

please could someone help me,i got twopence cartwheel brittanna coin,anybody could tell me about this please

[Rob]

They were struck at Matthew Boulton's Soho mint in 1797 to a design by Conrad Kuechler and along with the penny were the first currency pieces struck using steam power designed by James Watt to drive the machinery. The penny and twopence contained 1 and 2 ounces of copper respectively, as the coinage to that date was based on an intrinsic value of metal. It was not popular due to the weight and both issues were only struck dated that year. The initial contract to produce the coins was for 500 tons of copper into 20 tons of 2d and 480 tons of 1d, the copper provided by Boulton at £108/ton. They were legal tender up to 1 shilling. A similar contract was agreed the following year with possibly others subsequent to this. So at least 1000 tons of cartwheel currency pieces were produced. That's a lot of copper. They are not rare except in top grade as currency pieces. Also, there are between 15 and 20 pattern and proof varieties of this design, but they are all at least very scarce, tend to be found in perfect or near perfect condition and are quite expensive. Values are always dependent on condition and can range from a few pounds to upwards of £500 for a top grade coin. The proofs and patterns start at about £500 or maybe just under if you are lucky. If you post a picture, we can give an idea of grade.