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copperbullion
Penny Pincher Member
Australia
136 Posts |
 Posted - 05/19/2008 : 23:48:47
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The 1797 Cartwheel Penny, History and Inflation.
The 1797 cartwheel penny is an important coin because it is the first coin made using a steam driven stamper, They were made by Matthew Boulton’s famous Soho Foundry in Birmingham.
Each coin contained an (Av) ounce of near-pure .999 copper. Thus we know copper was worth a penny an ounce in 1797. The weight of these coins also made them ideal as substitutes for weights in measuring produce, a task for which they were intentionally designed.
Australian Connection: In late 1800, The (ship) Porpoise arrived at Sydney Cove with almost 4 tons (£550 worth) of 1 oz., 1797 dated cartwheel pennies. The intention of the authorities was to stabilize the currency of the colonies.
In a bid to ensure that the coins were not immediately traded back out of the colonies, Governor King issued a proclamation, which effectively doubled their face value for use in trade within the colony and placed sanctions on their import into or export from the colony.
Purchasing Power: The inflation-adjusted purchasing power of the cartwheel penny is amazing! To buy the equivalent goods with one 1797 penny in 1998 would cost 6,829 pennies (Au $139.23) - even more in 2008 money as inflation is accelerating fast! (Source: House of Commons research paper 03/82 11th November 2003)
This valued a metric ton (32,150 troy ounces) of copper in 1797 at 223.26 pounds. Inflation adjusted for 1998 this equates to 1,524,642 pounds or Au $3,106,556 per ton. This start to make the current price of copper look cheap at around Au $9,000 per ton.
Notes:
* In 1797 there were 144 pennies to a pound this changed to 100 pennies to a pound
in 1970
* The 1797 price per ton is calculated by dividing 32,150 ounces by 144 pennies.
* The inflation-adjusted price is calculated by multiplying the 1797 ton price by
6,829, the inflation adjusted price as per House of Commons research.
* Currency exchange rates as of 20th May, 2008.
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HoardCopperByTheTon
Administrator
USA
6807 Posts |
Posted - 05/20/2008 : 00:10:15
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| I have one of those coins around here somewhere.. Probably with the Russia 5 Kopek and the Swedish Plate money. |
If your percentages are low.. just sort more. If your percentages are high.. just sort more.
Now selling Copper pennies. 1.6x plus shipping. Limited amounts available. |
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WilliamC
Penny Collector Member
USA
471 Posts |
Posted - 05/20/2008 : 07:04:11
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Found it in a Brinks box no doubt!
Or was it loose in a customer returned bag ;) |
Sorting In Northwest Mississippi |
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n/a
deleted
8 Posts |
Posted - 05/20/2008 : 09:07:53
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I think Boulton was very keen on finding a way to sell all the copper his mines were producing--thus the interest in automated coin stamping.
There's a decent book on Boulton and his crew of like-minded industrialists & natural philosophers such as Wedgewood (pottery), Erasmus Darwin (grandfather of Charles), and Watts (steam engines). It's The Lunar Men: Five Friends Whose Curiosity Changed the World by Jenny Uglow. |
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n/a
deleted
9 Posts |
Posted - 05/21/2008 : 00:01:39
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| They sure are nice looking things |
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moboman
1000+ Penny Miser Member
USA
2555 Posts |
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Copper at $3,000,000 Per ton!
Forum Locked
