Guernsey 8 doubles 1834 - Coat of arms in a laurel wreath

The coin's story

This 8 doubles coin is the first of this denomination struck for Guernsey. Until the early nineteenth century, the island mainly used French money, from 1830 it struck its own copper coins, the doubles, with a system of its own: 8 doubles were worth one Guernsey penny, and 12 pence one shilling. This large 20 gram coin was therefore worth one penny, or one two-hundred-and-fortieth of a pound. It was struck in 1834, in the reign of William IV, the very year French livres ceased to be legal tender on the island. The striking was entrusted to the Soho Manufactory, near Birmingham. The same type was struck again in 1858 under Queen Victoria, with differences on both sides and a weight about two grams lower. Neither coin bears a royal portrait: only the arms of the island appear, surrounded by a laurel wreath.