The Turning Point

Machinery was employed in the Mint to strike coins on a regular basis in the reign of Charles II. The change actually came about in 1662, after which time the Mint in the Tower used screw presses to strike coins and horse-drawn rolling mills to reduce the metal to coin thickness.

With greater power at its disposal the screw press could produce coins that were thicker, more regular in shape and had a higher relief. For the British coinage this was a watershed. Coins were transformed from being medieval in appearance to being much more like modern coins.