Groat was a British silver coin. The first groats were minted in 1279. They proved unpopular and were not minted again until 1351. A half-groat was introduced at this time. Both coins were issued until the late 1700’s. Groats were minted again from 1836 to 1856, and special groats are still minted as Maundy money. The name groat comes from the word grote (thick) in Middle English. The first groats were thick coins.
