Fourpence 2023 (Maundy), Coin from United Kingdom - detailed information

The Maundy fourpence (or four pence) coin is the highest denomination of Maundy money - coins specially minted in varying (but always small) mintage for ceremonial purposes and not intended as circulating currency. They are usually handed by the British monarch in person to selected deserving individuals once every year. They are issued in "prooflike" condition and usually remain in it, especially the more recent ones. Each recipient receives two purses: a red one with ordinary coins, and a white purse containing a particular amount (which varies every year) made up of one, two, three and four pence Maundy coins. Since the amounts are not always divisible by ten, the number (and mintage) of the respective denominations differ; in other words, they cannot always all be cleanly combined into a number of full sets. Note also that the coins are initially in purses; the sets that appear on the market are made from these later, and are not issued as sets by the Royal Mint.

Maundy money has remained in much the same form since 1670, and the coins used for the Maundy ceremony have traditionally been struck in sterling silver, save for the brief interruptions of King Henry VIII’s debasement of the coinage and the general change to 50% silver coins in 1920. The sterling silver standard (92.5%) was resumed following the Coinage Act of 1946. The current reverse was designed by Jean Baptiste Merlen in 1822 and has been issued since then with only minor modifications.

This Maundy fourpence coin was distributed by King Charles III at his first Maundy service as reigning monarch (he had earlier presided in 2022 as a representative of his mother, Queen Elizabeth II). The ceremony was held at York Minster on 6 April 2023. Recipients were selected from Church of England dioceses across the country, and Anglican and Ecumenical partners across the United Kingdom, to thank them for their outstanding Christian service and for making a difference to the lives of people in their local communities. 

Since the reign of King Henry IV, in the early 15th century, English monarchs have presented Maundy coins to a number of people that matches the monarch's age. In 2023, the King handed out coins to 74 men and 74 women. Each recipient received two purses: a white purse with the amount of 74 pence (seven sets of one penny, twopence, threepence and a fourpence each, plus an additional 4p), and a red purse with two commemorative coins: a £5 (crown) marking the King's upcoming 75th birthday, and a 50p coin commemorating the seventy-fifth anniversary of the Windrush Generation.