Write a paragraph that states and defends a claim about which object from A History of the World in 100 Objects is the most historically significant. Choose one of the following objects: the Benin plaques, The Great Wave, the Sudanese slit drum, or the suffragette-defaced penny. Excerpt from A History of the World in 100 Objects: Part 1 Excerpt from A History of the World in 100 Objects: Part 2 Excerpt from A History of the World in 100 Objects: Part 3

This penny, struck in 1903, has been defaced with the slogan 'votes for women' over the portrait of king edward vii. at the start of edward vii's reign women, along with the poor and criminals, were denied the right to vote. mutilating coins was one of the methods suffragettes used to spread their message of universal suffrage to a wide audience. pennies were used by all sections of society and were so small a denomination they were rarely recalled by the bank.how else did the suffragettes campaign for votes for women? suffragette derives from the word suffrage meaning the right to vote. as well as conventional campaigning, the suffragettes also attacked museums, famously slashing the rokeby venus, a painting in the national gallery, in 1914. they also smashed a mummy case in the british museum. in 1918 the representation of the people act gave women over the age of 30 the right to vote but it was not until 1928 that women were given the same voting rights as men.