Wikipedia … #TIL

The British groat was struck throughout the 18th century, though by the 1800s it had come mostly to be coined to be given as ceremonial alms at the Royal Maundy service. It was resurrected as a circulating coin in 1836, as the Royal Mint sought to fill the gap between the penny and sixpence. The fourpence was chosen at the urging of the politician Joseph Hume, who noted that fourpence was the cab fare for short journeys. The new coin did not endear him to hackney drivers, who previously often received sixpence without a request for change, and they gave it the nickname “joey”. There was also confusion between the groat and the sixpence.