Groat
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2008-07-04T16:38:35Z
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{{for|the hulled and crushed grains of various cereals|groats}}
{{for|the surname|Groat (surname)}}
'''Groat''' is the traditional name of an [[England|English]] [[silver]] [[coin]] worth four [[History of the English penny|English pennies]], and also a [[Scottish coinage|Scottish coin]] originally worth fourpence, with later issues being valued at eightpence and a [[shilling]].
==Name==
The name has also been applied to any thick or large coin, such as the ''[[Groschen]]'' (''grosso''), a silver coin issued by [[Tyrol]] in 1271 and [[Venice]] in the 13th century, which was the first of this general size to circulate in the [[Holy Roman Empire]] and other parts of Europe. The immediate ancestor to the groat was the [[France|French]] ''[[gros tournois]]'' or groat of [[Tours]], which was known as the ''groot'' (Dutch for "great" or "large") in the [[Netherlands]].
The name groat also refers to [[groschen|a range of other European coins]] such as those of the Italian peninsula known as a ''grosso'' including the [[grosso of Venice]]. [[Marco Polo]] referred to the groat in recounts of his travels to East Asia when describing the currencies of the [[Yuan Dynasty|Yuan Empire]].<ref>Henry Yule. ''The Travels of Marco Polo: The Complete Yule-Cordier Edition''. Third edition (1903), revised and updated by Henri Cordier. Plain Label Books. p. 1226-27. (ISBN 1603036156)</ref> His descriptions were based on the conversion of 1 [[bezant]] = 20 groats = 133⅓ [[tornesel]].<ref>Henry Yule. ''The Travels of Marco Polo: The Complete Yule-Cordier Edition''. Third edition (1903), revised and updated by Henri Cordier. Plain Label Books. p. 1229-30. (Note) (ISBN 1603036156)</ref>
==History==
{{Coin image box 1 double
| header = David II of Scotland
| hbkg = #abcdef
| image = Image:David II of Scotland groat 1367 612676.jpg
| caption_left = ++DAVID x REX x SCOTORVm Crowned bust left holding sceptre before; star at base of sceptre
| caption_right = Outer circle: +DNS PTECTOR MS F LIBATOR MS - inner circle: VILL A ED InBV RGh Long cross quartered with of five points mullets.
| width = 300
| footer = AR Groat (3.11 g). Light coinage, 1367-1371. Edinburgh mint.
| position = right
| margin = 0
}}
{{Coin image box 1 double
| header = Henry VIII: Irish groat
| hbkg = #abcdef
| image = Image:Henry 8 Irish groat 1541 756365.jpg
| caption_left = hEnRIC VIII DI GR REX AnGLIE, crowned coat-of-arms over cross fourchee; mm: trefoil
| caption_right = FRAnCIE ET hIBERnIE REX, crowned harp; crowned h and crowned R flanking (henricus Rex).
| width = 300
| footer = AR Groat (25mm, 2.32 gm, 12h). Second harp issue, as king of Ireland, 1541-1542. London mint (exported).
| position = right
| margin = 0
}}
It was after the French silver coin had circulated in England that an English groat was first minted under [[Edward I of England|King Edward I]].
Scots groats were not issued until the reign of [[David II of Scotland|David II]]. [[Scottish coinage|Scots groats]] were originally also worth fourpence, but later issues were valued at eightpence and a [[shilling]].<ref name= Mackay >Mackay: ''Coin''...</ref><ref name= Stewart >Stewart: ''Scottish''...</ref>
Irish groats were minted first in 1425 and the last ones were minted under the reign of [[Elizabeth I of England]]. There were also two more issues, both emergency coinage.<ref name= Grueber> Grueber: ''Handbook''...</ref>
While strictly speaking, the English groat should have contained four [[pennyweight]]s or 96 [[grain (measure)|grains]] (6.2 [[gram]]s) of [[sterling silver]], the first ones issued [[mass|weighed]] 89 grains (5.8 g) and later issues became progressively lighter. The weight was reduced to 72 grains (three pennyweights or 4.7 g) under [[Edward III of England|Edward III]], 60 grains (3.9 g) under [[Henry IV of England|Henry IV]], and 48 grains (3.1 g) under [[Edward IV of England|Edward IV]]. From 1544 to 1560 (the weight being reduced to 32 grains (2.1 g) in 1559) the silver fineness was less than sterling, and after the 1561 issue they were not generally issued for circulation again for about a hundred years.
From the reigns of [[Charles II of England|Charles II]] to [[George II of Great Britain|George III]], groats (by now often known as fourpences) were issued on an irregular basis for general circulation, the only years of mintage after 1786 being in 1792, 1795, and 1800. After this the only circulating issues were from 1836 to 1855, with proofs known from 1857 and 1862 and a colonial issue of 1888. These last coins had the weight further reduced to about 27 grains (1.9 [[gram]]s) and were the same diameter as the silver threepenny pieces of the day although thicker. They also had [[Britannia]] on the reverse, while all other silver fourpenny pieces since the reign of [[William III of England|William and]] [[Mary II of England|Mary]] have had a crowned numeral "4" as the reverse, including the silver fourpenny [[Maundy money]] coins of the present. Some groats continued to circulate in [[Scotland]] until the 20th century.
At times in the past, silver twopenny coins have been called "half-groats."
==Cultural references==
The word "groat" has entered into a number of English and Scottish expressions, many of them now archaic.
In the north of England, there is the saying "Blood without groats is nothing" meaning "family without fortune is worthless." The allusion is to [[black-pudding]], which consists chiefly of blood and [[oats]] formed into a [[sausage]]. "Not worth a groat" is an old saying meaning "not worth a penny", i.e. worthless.
[[Benjamin Franklin]], in his book, ''[[Necessary Hints]]'' gives the following thrifty advice:
:He that spends a groat a day idly, spends idly above six pounds a year."
In [[Beatrix Potter]]'s ''[[The Tale of Squirrel Nutkin]]'', there is the following [[riddle]]:
:"Riddle me, riddle me, rot-tot-tote! A little wee man in a red red coat! A staff in his hand, and a stone in his throat; If you'll tell me this riddle, I'll give you a groat."
The answer is a [[cherry]].
According to Hawkins' ''History of the Silver Coins of England''<ref>[http://books.google.it/books?id=5WICAAAAYAAJ&printsec=frontcover&dq=Hawkins+Silver+Coinage+England&lr=#PPP13,M1 Hawkins : Silver Coins of England, London, MDCCCXLI. p.257]</ref>, groats were also known as "Joeys",
:"so called from [[Joseph Hume]], M.P., who strongly recommended the coinage for the sake of paying short cab-fares, etc."
This refers to the Victorian four-penny piece. The mention of cab fares is related to the fact that the standard minimum was four pence, so many passengers paid with a six-penny piece, allowing the cabby to keep the two pence change as a tip. The slang name "Joey" was transferred to the silver / cupronickel three-penny pieces in use in the first third of the twentieth century.
[[John o' Groats]], commonly (and mistakenly) regarded as the most northerly part of the [[Scotland|Scottish]] mainland, in [[Caithness]] despite its appearance has nothing to do with the coin, but is in fact a corruption of "Jan de Groot", the name of a [[Dutch people|Dutchman]] who migrated there, in the reign of [[James IV of Scotland|James IV]] [http://www.bartleby.com/81/9271.html] [http://www.visitjohnogroats.com/history.htm]
==See also==
{{commonscat}}
* [[British coinage]]
* [[Scottish coinage]]
==Notes==
{{reflist|1}}
==References==
* ''[[Brewer's Dictionary of Phrase and Fable]]'' (1898)
* {{citation |last=Grueber |first=Herbert Appold |title=Handbook of the Coins of Great Britain and Ireland in the British Museum |location=London |publisher=The British Museum |date=1899 |url=http://www.archive.org/details/handbookofcoinso00brituoft }}
* James Mackay - John Mussel (eds.): Coin Price Guide to British coins, Token Publishing Ltd, Axminster, Devon
* Ian Halley Stewart. The Scottish Coinage, Spink & Son, Londra, 1955
{{British_coinage}}
==External links==
*[http://www.coinsgb.com British Coins] - Free information about British coins. Includes an online forum.
[[Category:Coins of England]]
[[Category:Coins of Scotland]]
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