A Pocketful of Wartime Coins

The carefully sourced coins in this set – struck during the war years, between the outbreak in 1914 and the Armistice of 1918 – are original, circulated coins. These are coins that may have been found in the wallets, pockets and purses of families on the home front or soldiers in the trenches. They include: the farthing, half penny, penny, threepence, sixpence, shilling, florin, and half crown. All eight coins bear the portrait of George V by Sir Edgar Bertram Mackennal, and each set is accompanied by a booklet exploring the realities of everyday living during wartime and the impact on British coinage.

Making Ends Meet to Support the War Effort

The First World War saw Europe engaged in a ‘total war’ that required the efforts of entire nations. It affected those from every walk of life, from the factory workers thrust into service, to those who kept the home fires burning back home. As war demanded ever more men, munitions, and money, it became increasingly difficult to find the basics that were taken for granted in peacetime – the kinds of things that may have been bought with the coins in this set.