Description

George III (George William Frederick; 4 June 1738 – 29 January 1820) was King of Great Britain and Ireland from 25 October 1760 until the union of the two countries on 1 January 1801, after which he was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland until his death.

His life and reign, which were longer than any other British monarch before him, were marked by a series of military conflicts involving his kingdoms, much of the rest of Europe, and places farther afield in Africa, the Americas and Asia. Early in his reign, Great Britain defeated France in the Seven Years' War, becoming the dominant European power in North America and India. However, many of Britain's American colonies were soon lost in the American Revolutionary War. Further wars against revolutionary and Napoleonic France from 1793 concluded in the defeat of Napoleon at the Battle of Waterloo in 1815.

In the later part of his life, George III had recurrent, and eventually permanent, mental illness. Although it has since been suggested that he had the blood disease porphyria, the cause of his illness remains unknown. After a final relapse in 1810, a regency was established, and George III's eldest son, George, Prince of Wales, ruled as Prince Regent.

Engraver: Conrad Heinrich Küchler

Obverse

Draped laureate bust of King George III right, legend GEORGIUS III DEI GRATIA REX (George the Third by the Grace of God King) around, date below.

GEORGIUS III·D:G·REX.
1806

Reverse

Seated Britannia, facing left, holding an olive branch and trident, legend above. There are waves about her feet, with a small ship to the left and a Union Jack shield below and to the right. Soho mint mark (the word 'SOHO' below-right of the shield). The initial K appears between trident and shield, indicating that the design is the work of the German engraver Conrad Heinrich Kuchler.

BRITANNIA
K
SOHO

Edge

Groove containing diagonal lines

Characteristics
Material Copper
Weight 18.9 g
Diameter 34 mm
Thickness 3 mm
Shape round
Alignment Coin
Mint
Soho Mint

Related coins

Cartwheel

Copper, 28.35 g, ⌀ 36 mm
1st portrait

Copper, 18.9 g, ⌀ 34 mm
2nd portrait

Bronze, 9.45 g, ⌀ 30.8 mm