Guernsey 1 double 1830 - Coat of Arms

The coin's story

This one double coin dates from the very first year of Guernsey's own coinage. Until the early nineteenth century, the island mainly used French money, and French livres remained legal tender there until 1834. In 1830 Guernsey began striking its own copper coins, the doubles, with a system of its own: 8 doubles were worth one Guernsey penny, and 12 pence one shilling. The double, the smallest denomination, was therefore worth only one eighth of a penny, or one nineteen-hundred-and-twentieth of a pound. The striking was entrusted to the Soho Manufactory, near Birmingham, known for its steam presses. 1830 also saw a change of sovereign: George IV died in June and William IV succeeded him, but the coin bears no royal portrait, only the arms of the island. The doubles remained in use until decimalisation in 1971.