GROAT (adapted from the Dutch

See also:

• GROOT, GERHARD (1340—1384)

groot,

See also:

• GREAT

great, thick; cf. Ger. Groschen; the Med.

See also:

• LAT

Lat. grossus gives Ital. grosso, Fr.

See also:

• GROS, ANTOINE JEAN, BARON (1771–1835)

gros, as names for the

See also:

• COIN
• COIN (older forms of the word are coyne, quoin and coign, all derived through the O. Fr. coing, and cuigne from Lat. cuneus, a wedge)

coin)  , a name applied as early as the 13th century on the continent of Europe to any large or thick coin . The groat was almost universally a silver coin, but its value varied considerably, as well at different times as in different countries . The English groat was first coined in 1351, of a value somewhat higher than a penny . The continuous debasement of both the penny and the groat left the latter finally worth four pennies . The issue of the groat was discontinued after 1662, but a coin worth fourpence was again struck in 1836 . Although frequently referred to as a groat, it had no other official designation than a " fourpenny piece." Its issue was again discontinued in 1856 . The groat was imitated in Scotland by a coin struck by David II. in 1358 . In Ireland it was first struck by Edward IV. in 146o .