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Maundy money
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Maundy money, legally called "the Queen's Maundy money" is a welcoming British coinage given to deserving poor people in a religious ceremony performed, in many periods with the participation of the monarch, on Maundy Thursday, the Thursday before Easter.
present-day Maundy ceremony has evolved over the centuries and bears little relationship to the original rites to which it owes its origins.
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Maundy money, legally called "the Queen's Maundy money" is a welcoming British coinage given to deserving poor people in a religious ceremony performed, in many periods with the participation of the monarch, on Maundy Thursday, the Thursday before Easter.
History of the Maundy ceremony
The present-day Maundy ceremony has evolved over the centuries and bears little relationship to the original rites to which it owes its origins. A fundamental aspect of the original Maundy service was the washing of the feet of the poor, which has its origins in Jesus' washing of the feet of the Disciples at the Last Supper. In early ceremonies, senior clergymen would wash the feet of lower clergy, while in other ceremonies, the washing would be done by someone higher up the hierarchical order.
The Maundy ceremony has been known in England since about 600 AD, but there is some disagreement among scholars as to first recorded instance of the Maundy ceremony. King Edward II (1307–1327) is often cited as the first English monarch to have actively taken part in the ceremony, although no dates are given. The first recorded occasion when the sovereign distributed alms at a Maundy service was in 1210, when King John (1199–1216) donated garments, forks, food, and other gifts to the poor of Knaresborough, Yorkshire. King Edward III (1327–1377) is also said to have washed feet and given gifts including money to the poor; the practice continued regularly, with the participation of the monarch, until 1698.
Although the monarch did not participate personally, later ceremonies continued in which a selection of people were given Maundy money consisting of silver pennies totalling, in pence, the current age of the monarch. The washing of feet ended after the 1736 ceremony, until it was re-instated in the 2003 ceremony, when it was performed by the new Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr. Rowan Williams.
In 1932, King George V agreed to take part personally in the distribution of the Maundy money. The 1936 set was distributed by King Edward VIII, although the coins bore George V's effigy. By 1953 it had become normal practice for the monarch to distribute the Maundy money, a practice which continues to this day.
On 20 March 2008, Queen Elizabeth II made history by holding the ceremony in St. Patrick's Church of Ireland Cathedral in Armagh, Northern Ireland. During the service the queen distributed Maundy money to 82 men and 82 women, representing the number of years of her age. It was the first time the ceremony had been conducted in Ireland and only the second time outside England.
Maundy coinage
Maundy money from 1818.]]
Until 1820 ordinary silver coinage was used for the Maundy money, but from 1822 special coins were minted in values of 1, 2, 3, and 4 pence. The 4d coin was also known as a groat. Each set of Maundy money therefore contains 10 pence, and recipients are given an appropriate number of complete sets, plus a part set if necessary, to equal the sovereign's age.
The reverse designs of the coins have seen only one change since 1822: a slight alteration of the style of the crown and denomination numerals in Queen Victoria's golden jubilee year of 1887. The dimensions of the coins have been fixed since 1822, although their silver content has changed twice (reduced in 1921, increased in 1947):
- 1 penny : weight 0.47 grams, diameter 11.15 millimetres.
- 2 pence : weight 0.94 grams, diameter 13.44 millimetres.
- 3 pence : weight 1.41 grams, diameter 16.26 millimetres.
- 4 pence : weight 1.88 grams, diameter 17.63 millimetres.
The original composition of the coins was sterling (0.925) silver. In common with all circulating British silver coins, the fineness was reduced to 0.500 in 1921. In 1947, silver was removed from all circulating British coinage in favour of cupronickel, but as it was felt to be inappropriate to strike Maundy coins in base metal, their fineness was restored to 0.925, where it remains to the present day.
The Coinage Act 1971 decimalised British currency with 100 new pence instead of 20 shillings of 12 pence (240 pence) in a pound. The design of the Maundy money was not changed at all, so instead of being worth 1, 2, 3, or 4 old pence, the coins are now worth 1, 2, 3, or 4 new pence, each one being worth 2.4 times its former value. As there is no difference in the design or weight between pre- and post-1971 coins, it was uniquely decided to revalue all pre-decimal Maundy coins back to 1822 at the equivalent value in new pence, i.e. the face value of each coin was increased by a factor of 2.4 overnight. All Maundy coins, back to 1822, remain legal tender in Britain at their stated value in new pence.
Availability of the coins
Victorian Maundy coins are quite common, as anybody could order a set from a bank; however in 1908, King Edward VII ordered that they should only be supplied to their recipients and people connected with the service, so coins dated 1909 and later are considerably scarcer than those which preceded them—although of course the quantity increases as the monarch ages. In 2005 the total mintage of each denomination was 1,685. In 2006 Queen Elizabeth II turned 80, and thus 80 men and 80 women each received 80 pence in Maundy Money on April 13 at Guildford Cathedral; in that year they also received a special £5 coin which commemorated her 80th birthday, as well as a 50p coin commemorating 150 years of the Victoria Cross.
Under a special privilege granted by Queen Elizabeth I, students at Westminster School also received Maundy coins for distinguished work.
Maundy coins, in proof condition, were sold as part of a special silver proof set of all United Kingdom coins in 2000 and in 2006. They were also sold in gold as part of a special gold proof set of all United Kingdom coins in 2002, as part of the Golden Jubilee observances.
While Maundy recipients have long sold the coins to dealers at a premium, in recent years, individual recipients have taken to selling them on eBay.
Coin obverses
- 1822–1830 — Left-facing head of King George IV. GEORGIUS IIII D G BRITANNIAR REX F D (George IV by the Grace of God King of the Britains, Defender of the Faith).
- 1831–1837 — Right-facing head of King William IV. GULIELMUS IIII D G BRITANNIAR REX F D (William IV by the Grace of God King of the Britains, Defender of the Faith).
- 1838–1887 — Left-facing "young head" of Queen Victoria. VICTORIA D G BRITANNIAR REGINA F D (Victoria by the Grace of God Queen of the Britains, Defender of the Faith).
- 1888–1892 — Left-facing "Jubilee head" of Queen Victoria. VICTORIA D G BRITANNIAR REGINA F D (Victoria by the Grace of God Queen of the Britains, Defender of the Faith).
- 1893–1901 — Left-facing "old head" of Queen Victoria. VICTORIA DEI GRA BRITT REGINA FID DEF IND IMP (Victoria by the Grace of God Queen of the Britains, Defender of the Faith, Empress of India).
- 1902–1910 — Right-facing head of King Edward VII. EDWARDVS VII D G BRITT OMN REX F D IND IMP (Edward VII by the Grace of God King of All the Britains, Defender of the Faith, Emperor of India).
- 1911–1936 — Left-facing head of King George V. GEORGIVS V D G BRITT OMN REX F D IND IMP (George V by the Grace of God King of All the Britains, Defender of the Faith, Emperor of India).
- 1937–1948 — Left-facing head of King George VI. GEORGIVS VI D G BR OMN REX F D IND IMP (George VI by the Grace of God King of All the Britains, Defender of the Faith, Emperor of India).
- 1949–1952 — Left-facing head of King George VI. GEORGIVS VI D G BR OMN REX FIDEI DEF (George VI by the Grace of God King of All the Britains, Defender of the Faith).
- 1953 — Right-facing head of Queen Elizabeth II. ELIZABETH II DEI GRA BRITT OMN REGINA F D (Elizabeth II by the Grace of God Queen of All the Britains, Defender of the Faith).
- 1954–current — Right-facing head of Queen Elizabeth II. ELIZABETH II DEI GRATIA REGINA F D (Elizabeth II by the Grace of God Queen, Defender of the Faith).
Note that the "young head" of Queen Elizabeth (by Mary Gillick) has been used on all Maundy coins of her reign, despite it not having been used on regular circulation coins since decimalization.
External links
- - Free information about British coins.
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