About the coin:

Pocket full of ‘coppers’? Well, as it turns out, pennies haven’t actually been coppers since 1860, but it seems the name has stuck. This Victorian penny from 1900 would have been bronze (although we cast in brass), and given that Vicky was on the throne for a fair old while, she had a few costume changes on her pennies during her reign.

The portrait on this particular coin is called the vailed or old head. It first appeared in 1895, when she was 76 and very much in her mourning attire. Our coin, being from 1900, saw one more year of Victoria before she was succeeded by her son, Edward VII.

Where we believe this coin came from:

Before the days of TV, social media, and the like, we had to be a little more inventive to pass the time, namely an exciting game of ‘shove ha’penny’. You may notice this particular Victorian penny rather smooth and worn, providing the perfect surface to glide swiftly across the board following a good old shove from a well-placed palm.

Part of a stack, passed down the generations, tucked away in a draw, and eventually ending up in my hand, passed down from my father. Perhaps it was chosen because it was already smoothed from gracing the hands and pockets of many a person or perhaps simply worn down from years of being used in a friendly family bout, we don’t know, but what we do know is that it now makes a satisfyingly large pendant that pleasantly slips through your fingers as you absentmindedly fiddle with it throughout the day.

Yours & c.
Carla.