The Story of the Groat

Obverse of Henry VII Groat

Reverse of Henry VII Groat

The word 'Groat' is derived from the old French word 'gros' meaning 'large' or 'great', named after the French coin, the 'Gros Turnois'. When the groat, worth fourpence, was first introduced by Edward I in about 1280, it was to be the largest silver coin in circulation in England for the next 220 years, until Henry VII introduced the testoon (shilling) in the early years of the 16th century. The groats minted under Edward I are quite rare as they were an experimental issue and many of those that still exist are often found damaged as they were apparently quite often used to make broaches and other items of jewelry due to their novel and eye-catching size. The groat as a regular circulating issue was struck from the reign of Edward III onwards, and throughout the rest of the middle ages.

The groat continued to be minted until 1856, although no groats were minted during the reign of James I (1603-1625) or during the Commonwealth period (1649-1660). The last groat issued for circulation in Britain was struck in 1855, by which time it had shrunk considerably over the centuries with inflation and was no longer the large coin that the etymology of its name would suggest!
From this point forward, apart from two proof issues from 1857 and 1862, and an 1888 colonial issue, the 'groat' has only been issued as part of the Maundy Set, issued every year by the Monarch on Maundy Thursday, and its decimal pence equivalent (4p) is issued to this day.

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