[LEAPSECS] Leap smear and Big Ben - clock's penny's replaced

[mike cook]

Le 02/10/2011 07:57, mike cook a écrit :

>   The clock was made in 1854, though not installed and started in the 

> tower until 1859. In those days the penny was 18,8 grams, twice that 

> of the 1860 and latter pennies.

> So I wonder which ones are currently in use? If the penny story is 

> true I would have thought that pennys available at the time of testing 

> and installation would still be there. The halfpenny of the 1825-1860 

> period was 9,3 grammes, so maybe the original weights were halfpenny's 

> and later swapped with 9.4g penny's.

>

Just located an article from Reuters dated November 2009,


  150-year old pennies removed from London's Big Ben

...
Three of the 10 coins have now been replaced with a 5 pound crown -- 
produced as part of the Royal Mint's collection to celebrate the London 
2012 Olympics -- which features Big Ben's clock face.

But McCann will keep hold of the old pennies in case they need to be 
returned to the pendulum at a future date."


  So if Reuters can be believed, the penny's date from the time that the 
clock was installed and are thus the 18,8g issue.
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