2019-10-25 Fri

George III aka George William Frederick was King of Great Britain and King of Ireland from 25 October 1760 until the union of these two countries on 1 January 1801, after which he was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland until his death in the year 1820.

He was the third British monarch of the House of Hanover, but unlike his two predecessors, he was born in Britain and spoke English as his first language. George III’s long reign was marked by a series of military conflicts involving his kingdoms, much of the rest of Europe, and places further 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 its American colonies were soon lost in the American Revolutionary War, which led to the establishment of the United States. A series of wars against revolutionary and Napoleonic France, over a twenty-year period, finally concluded in the defeat of Napoleon in 1815.

In the latter half of his life, George III suffered from recurrent and, eventually, permanent mental illness. After a final relapse in 1810, a regency was established, and George III’s eldest son, George, Prince of Wales, ruled as Prince Regent. George III was a very successful and able ruler as his tenure as king resulted in the emergence of the UK as the European Power.

The above-shown coin is Heavy Copper Cartwheel 2 Pence Coin issued in the year 1797. Minted at Birmingham, the coin depicts Laureate bust of George III right with the legend: “GEORGIVS III. D: G. REX.” On the obverse and Britannia seated left on a rock with a shield on the reverse with a Sailship in the background and the mint name “SOHO” below the shield.

Image Courtesy: https://www.coinshome.net