Coins of the Bailiwick of Jersey–Part 1
Explore the history of Jersey through the coins issued under British monarchs, beginning with Queen Victoria.
Courtesy Copernicus Sentinel-2, ESA/Wikimedia Commons.
About the Bailiwick of Jersey
The Bailiwick of Jersey, commonly called Jersey, is an autonomous and self-governing island territory of the British Islands. It consists of the main island of Jersey and some surrounding uninhabited islands and rocks.
Although Jersey is a British Crown Dependency, it is not a sovereign state. However, it has its own distinguishing civil and government institutions, so it qualifies as a small nation or island country.
Jersey lies in the English Channel about 12 nautical miles from the Cotentin Peninsula in Normandy, France, and about 87 nautical miles south of Great Britain. St Helier is the capital, and it is part of the British Isles, which is defined as the United Kingdom and the Channel Islands. It is the largest of the Channel Islands, which also consists of Guernsey, Alderney, Sark, Herm, and some smaller islands.
As a self-governing parliamentary democracy under a constitutional monarchy, it has its own financial and legal systems and independent courts of law. Its parliament is the State Assembly, composed of 49 elected members.
Jersey’s constitutional relationship is with the Crown. As a British Crown Dependency, it is defended and internationally represented by the UK government. On the island, the Lieutenant-Governor of Jersey is the personal representative of His Majesty the King.
In Part 1, the coinage minted and circulated in Jersey from the reign of Queen Victoria to today’s King Charles III.
A British Dependency
Jersey has three official languages: English, French, and Jèrriais. The latter is a variety of an archaic form of Norman-French that the country people of Jersey still speak. It is lasting evidence of the Norman annexation of the island in A.D 933. Jersey was then annexed to England in 1206, 140 years after the Norman Conquest. However, the past century has seen a great decline in its usage, as well as in the use of French.
Although the island’s constitutional relationship is with the Crown and it is a British dependency, Jersey is administered under its own laws and customs. Laws enacted by the British Parliament do not apply to Jersey unless they are specifically mentioned.
Courtesy National Portrait Gallery/Wikimedia Commons.
Queen Victoria
Victoria, born 24 May 1819, was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from June 20, 1837, until her death on January 22, 1901, constituting the Victorian era.
The standard coins circulating in Jersey during her reign included the 1/52 shilling, 1/48 shilling, 1/26 shilling, 1/24 shilling, 1/13 shilling, and 1/12 shilling, all either minted in bronze or copper.
1841 copper 1/52 shilling. Courtesy ANA Money Museum Store
The obverse of the coins displayed Victoria crowned, or uncrowned, head left and date below. The legend in Latin read, “VICTORIA D:G BRITANNIAR: REGINA:F:D.,” (“Victoria by the Grace of God. Queen of the Britains. Defender of the Faith.”) The reverse shows a pointed or ornate shield, with the legend reading, “STATES OF JERSEY.”
Queen Victoria died at Osborne House on the Isle of Wight on January 22, 1901, after what would be the longest reign in British history, lasting almost 64 years. Victoria’s son, Edward, then succeeded to the throne as Edward VII.
Courtesy National Portrait Gallery/Wikimedia Commons.
King Edward VII
Born Albert Edward on November 11, 1881, he was the eldest son of Queen Victoria. As King Edward VII, he played a significant role in modernizing the British Home Fleet and reorganizing the British Army after the Second Boer War of 1899–1902.
King Edward VII fostered good relations between Britain and other European countries, particularly France, for which he was popularly called the “Peacemaker.”
1909 bronze 1/24 shilling. Courtesy Teryjaki/eBay.
King Edward VII was the ruler of Jersey during his reign from 1901 til his death in 1910. During this time, the island issued bronze coins in only two denominations in 1909. The identical standard circulating coins were the 1/12 shilling, with a diameter of 30.9 millimeters, and the 1/24 shilling, with a diameter of 25.55 millimeters.
The obverse has Edward VII’s crowned bust right. The legend reads, “Edward VII King & Emperor.” The reverse displays a pointed shield with three lions, which divide the date. The legend reads, “One Twenty-Fourth of a Shilling, States of Jersey.” The coinage was 120,000.
Courtesy National Portrait Gallery/Wikimedia Commons.
George V
King George V, the second son of Edward VII, reigned from 1910 to 1936 and guided the British monarchy through the tumultuous periods of World War I, the Great Depression, and the transformation of the British Empire into the Commonwealth of Nations.
During the reign of King George V, standard coins minted for Jersey were limited to the 1/12-shilling denomination, as referenced in the Standard Catalog of World Coins. The making of coins during the time of George V was limited due to Britain’s financial needs during and after World War I.
1923 1/12 bronze shilling. Courtesy NGC.
The 1/12 shilling was minted in bronze for Jersey in 1911, 1913, 1923, 1926, 1931, 1933, and 1935. The obverse displayed King George’s crowned bust left. The reverse showed either a pointed or an unpointed shield dividing the date.
King George V died on January 20, 1936. His son Edward would succeed him as the highly controversial King Edward VIII.
To Be Continued
In the next issue, Part Two reviews the story of Jersey’s coinage during the reigns of King Edward VIII, King George VI, Queen Elizabeth II, and the current monarch, King Charles III.
Also told is the remarkable story of how Jersey, during the German occupation, designed and minted its own paper money in 1942 to replace the lack of metallic coinage on the island.
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