1861, Great Britain, Queen Victoria. Copper Penny Coin.
Mint Year: 1861
Denomination: Penny
Reference: S-3954 KM-749.2.
Material: Copper
Diameter: 34mm
Weight: 9.4gm
Obverse: Young wreathed bust of Queen Victoria left. Legend: VICTORIA S: G: - BRITT: REG: F: D: Reverse: Togate figure of Britannia seated right, holding trident and British oval shield. In backgroud a lighhouse to left, and a sailship to right visible. Legend: ONE PENNY Exergue: I86I
Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was from 20 June 1837 the Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and from 1 May 1876 the first Empress of India until her death. Her reign as Queen lasted 63 years and seven months, longer than that of any other British monarch to date. The period centred on her reign is known as the Victorian era.
Though Victoria ascended the throne at a time when the United Kingdom was already an established constitutional monarchy in which the king or queen held few political powers, she still served as a very important symbolic figure of her time. The Victorian era represented the height of the Industrial Revolution, a period of significant social, economic, and technological progress in the United Kingdom. Victoria’s reign was marked by a great expansion of the British Empire; during this period it reached its zenith, becoming the foremost global power of the time.
Victoria, who was of almost entirely German descent, was the granddaughter of George III and the niece of her predecessor William IV. She arranged marriages for her nine children and forty-two grandchildren across the continent, tying Europe together; this earned her the nickname “the grandmother of Europe”. She was the last British monarch of the House of Hanover; her son King Edward VII belonged to the House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha. Through her mother, she was also a first cousin twice removed of Maria Theresa, Holy Roman Empress.