The peculiarity of the island territories of Jersey, Guernsey and Maine is that they are not part of the United Kingdom or its colonies, but at the same time are under its protection. The islands have their own parliament and their own currency. Coins issued by the Channel Islands in the 19th century and in the first half of the 20th century will be discussed in this mini-review.
At different times, the islands were owned by the Romans, Gauls, Franks, Vikings, Britons, Normans. And, only at the beginning of the XIII century, the islands fall into the sphere of influence of Great Britain.
Jersey coins.
So, the Channel Islands are the islands of Jersey and Guernsey and several smaller ones that are located in the English Channel. The proximity, territorial and ethnic, on the one hand to Great Britain, on the other hand to France, served as the fact that the currency of these two states was circulating on the islands in various historical periods.
Officially, until 1834, the main currency of the island was French livre, which, by the way, was canceled in France itself back in 1795. In 1834, the local Parliament, States of Jersey, decided to switch to the British pound. This concerned primarily large paper denominations, while French trifles continued to be in circulation on the island until 1924, and exchanged at a rate of 26 su for 1 shilling.
In 1841, the first issue of coins for Jersey took place. It included 1⁄52, 1⁄26 and 1⁄13 shillings, which corresponded to the line of coins of Great Britain: farthing, halfpenny and penny. In addition, 1⁄13 shillings equated to 2 sous. States of Jersey legend.
KM # 1, 1⁄52 shilling 1841, copper, 116 kEq, single year of manufacture
KM # 2, 1⁄26 shillings 1858, copper, 173 thousand equivalent, production years 1841-1861
KM # 3, 1⁄13 shillings 1858, copper, 173 thousand equivalent, production years 1841-1861
In 1866, the two senior denominations were reissued with an updated portrait of Queen Victoria and other blank material.
KM # 4, 1⁄26 shillings 1866, bronze, 173 thousand exes, years 1866-1871
KM # 5, 1⁄13 shillings 1871, bronze, 160 thousand exes, years 1866-1871
In 1877, 1 shilling began to consist of 12 pence (pound=4 crowns=20 shillings=240 pence), respectively, small copper coins had to be brought into line. It is worth noting that the "farthing" in 1877 was released for the last time in the history of the island.
KM # 6, 1⁄48 shillings 1877, bronze, 288 thousand exes, only year of manufacture
KM # 7, 1⁄24 shillings 1877, bronze, 336 thousand exes, years 1877-1894
KM # 8, 1⁄12 shillings 1888, bronze, 180 thousand exes, production years 1877-1894
As you can see, the coat of arms of the island has changed on the coins.
The following two coins were issued during the reign of King Edward VII of Great Britain.
KM # 9, 1⁄24 shillings 1909, bronze, 120 thousand exes, only year of manufacture
KM # 10, 1⁄12 shillings 1909, bronze, 180 thousand exes, only year of manufacture
Coins with George V, the next English monarch, were issued in three versions. The differences lie in the type of coat of arms and the general design of the obverse of the coins. The denominations are still the same - 1⁄24 and 1⁄12 shillings.
KM # 11, 1⁄24 shilling 1913, bronze, 72 thousand copies, years of manufacture 1911-1923
KM # 12, 1⁄12 shillings 1911, bronze, 204 thousand exes, production years 1911-1923
KM # 13, 1⁄24 shillings 1926, bronze, 120 thousand exes, years of manufacture 1923,1926
KM # 14, 1⁄12 shillings 1923, bronze, 301 thousand copies, years of manufacture 1923,1926
KM # 15, 1⁄24 shilling 1933, bronze, 72 thousand copies, years of manufacture 1931-1935
KM # 16, 1⁄12 shillings 1931, bronze, 204 thousand exes, years 1931-1935
The first coins with George VI were issued in 1937.
KM # 17, 1⁄24 shilling 1937, bronze, 72 thousand exes, single year of manufacture
KM # 18, 1⁄12 shillings 1937, bronze, 204 thousand exes, only year of manufacture
In 1940, the island, which has a very important strategic position for the subsequent invasion of Great Britain, was occupied by the troops of the Third Reich. The occupation of the island continued until the surrender of Germany on May 9, 1945.
In memory of the Liberation, in 1945, a commemorative coin of 1 shillings was issued with a circulation of 1⁄12 million exoz. hitherto unprecedented for Jersey.
KM # 19, 1⁄12 shillings 1945, bronze, 1 MMex, single year of manufacture
Please note that the name of the state has changed to "Island of Jersey"
Coins of the pre-war type with the profile of George VI were reissued in 1946 and 1947. After the Coronation of Elizabeth II, coins for the island were issued several times in traditional shilling denominations for Jersey, and in 1971, together with Great Britain itself, the island of Jersey switched to the decimal monetary system, which still exists today.
Guernsey coins.
At the beginning of the 19th century, there was also confusion with currency on the island. As in Jersey, until 1834 there was a French livre. Then, until 1921, French francs were accepted for payment without restrictions, while back in 1827 the island mastered the production of its own currency in pounds. This concerns paper money.
In 1830, the island launched the production of its own coins - takes. This name of the bargaining chip came again from the French bargaining chip "double deniers," although the face value was equal to the liard (three deniers), which was still in circulation in France.
1 take was equal to 1⁄1920 guernsey pound, 1⁄2040 British pound sterling and 1⁄80 French franc. This "disgrace" continued until 1921, until the circulation of the franc islands was canceled, and the Guernsey pound was not equated with the British in a ratio of 1:1 (the double became equal to 1⁄1920 pounds sterling). An 8-take coin became equal to 1 British penny.
KM # 1, 1 take 1830, copper, 1.6 M equivalent, single year of manufacture
KM # 2, 4 takes 1830, copper, 655 thousand copies, years of production 1830, 1858
KM # 3, 8 takes 1834, copper, 222 thousand copies, years of production 1834, 1858
In 1858, the line of coins was supplemented with a face value of 2 takes.
KM # 4, 2 double 1858, copper, 56 kEq, single year of manufacture
Unlike Jersey coins, Guernsey coins do not have an image of the reigning monarch of Great Britain. Therefore, during the interesting period we were released only three lines of coins. Basically, the differences in types are due to the presence of minor changes in the design of the coat of arms of the island on coins. Such as, for example, the number of stems at the golden sprout above the shield is one or three.
A line of coins of the following type was produced between 1864 and 1911.
KM # 10, 1 take 1903, bronze, 112 thousand copies, years of production 1868-1911
KM # 9, 2 doubles 1908, bronze, 18 thousand copies, production years 1868-1911
KM # 5, 4 doubles 1868, bronze, 58 thousand copies, years of production 1864-1911
KM # 7, 8 takes 1864, bronze, 280 thousand copies, years of production 1864-1911
Third line of coins. Note the shape and number of golden sprout leaves above the shield.
KM # 11, 1 take 1938, bronze, 96 thousand copies, years of production 1911-1938
KM # 12, 2 doubles 1920, bronze, 57 thousand copies, years of production 1914-1929
KM # 13, 4 doubles 1918, bronze, 157 thousand copies, years of production 1914-1949
KM # 14, 8 takes 1914, bronze, 157 thousand copies, years of production 1914-1949
The coat of arms on coins of the third type is most similar to today's coat of arms of Guernsey.
During the reign of Elizabeth II, several types of "takes," "pence" and "shillings" were issued. In 1971, the island also underwent monetary reform.