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There were 12 pennies to the shilling and 20 shillings to the pound. There were also Half Crowns, Three Pennies, Sixpences and Farthings. Prior to the decimal era, many had problems dealing with the complicated system, with Sir John Bowring, a Member of Parliament at the time, being one of the first calling to change to a currency based on units of ten.
King George III, born in 1738, was a member of the Hanover Dynasty, which ruled England for almost two centuries. He became King of Great Britain in 1760, during some of the most turbulent and trying times, including the American Revolutionary War.
In 1788, an illness brought upon him many mental struggles and uncertainties, with Parliament eventually deeming him unfit to rule, and making his son Prince Regent. He lived with this ‘unknown’ disease for several years before his death in 1820.
We’re taking a look back through the reign of George III, and seven facts that you may not know about him and his life as King.
Born George William Frederick in London in 1738, King George III was the King of Great Britain and Ireland from 1760 and King of Hanover from 1814 until his death in 1820. He lived and ruled longer than any other English or British king and this year marks the 200th anniversary since the end of his record-breaking reign.
While George III’s reputation as “the mad king who lost America” prevails, he was a committed and conscientious leader who provided background stability in a thriving Britain undergoing industrialisation. He also oversaw the reform of gold coinage, which was no mean feat, and few people have acknowledged his valuable contribution to numismatics as we know it.