Before I was all-in on silver (and more recently, gold), my fascination with coins started the old-fashioned way: in muddy fields with a metal detector, headphones on and eyes peeled for buried treasure. Like many stackers and collectors, it began with the simple thrill of finding something lost to time. Coins, buttons, relics of the past — each one with a story. That buzz of digging up history became something much more, and it wasn’t long before I caught the bug.
Eventually, I found myself not just searching underground but scouring eBay for hidden gems. I started small — undervalued copper coins, mostly in job lots, often beat-up and unloved. One day, a nondescript bundle of old coins landed through the door, and among them was a real heavyweight: a 1797 Cartwheel Penny.
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This thing is a unit. Thick, heavy, and unapologetically bold — it’s easy to see why it was called the "Cartwheel." Minted by Matthew Boulton at the Soho Mint in Birmingham, the Cartwheel Penny wasn’t just Britain’s first copper penny; it was also the first base metal coin to be struck by steam power. At a full one ounce of copper, Boulton’s idea was simple: make the coin’s intrinsic metal value match its face value, making counterfeiting not worth the effort.
It’s a pretty sorry specimen in my collection — worn, dark, with a well-earned patina — but it holds a certain charm. I could clean it up, give it a bit of a shine, make it look far better. But any numismatist worth their salt knows… you never, ever, EVER clean a coin. The grime, the wear, the tone — it’s all part of the story. Scrubbing it would be like sanding down a museum relic. Sure, it’d be shiny — but it would lose all its authenticity.
The thick raised rim was a genius move for the time — designed to protect the detail from wear, especially considering how much these circulated. But even with that clever design, two centuries of life takes its toll. My coin’s in fair condition, at best. And yet, it’s one of my favourites. Not because it’s valuable, but because it marks the start of my journey — from swinging a detector in the rain to carefully curating a stack of precious metals.
The Cartwheel Penny isn’t silver or gold. It doesn’t sparkle or gleam. But it is history you can hold — a bold experiment in coinage, a symbol of innovation, and a reminder that every collection starts somewhere.