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Beginning in 1860 and continuing for several years, Britain replaced its copper coinage with bronze pieces. The copper coins (principally the penny, halfpenny and farthing) had been struck since 1797 in various sizes, all of which were seen as too large. Over time the copper metal wore or oxidised, or had advertising punched into it, and there were also counterfeits and foreign coins in

A pattern coin is a coin which has not been approved for release but is produced to evaluate a proposed coin design. They are often off-metal strike (using metals of lower value to test out the dies), to proof standard or piedforts. Many coin collectors collect and study pattern coins because of their historical importance. Many of the world's most valuable coins are pattern coins; nearl

A piedfort (UK: , US: ; French: pied-fort or piéfort [pjefɔʁ]) is an unusually thick coin, often exactly twice the normal weight and thickness of other coins of the same diameter and pattern. Piedforts are not normally circulated, and are only struck for presentation purposes by mint officials (such as patterns), or for collectors, dignitaries and other VIPs. Piedfort is less commonly sp