Counterfeit Irish Halfpenny 1737? 1787?

P.S. I am posting in this sub-forum because I understand that many coins like this made their way to the colonies circa 1737, if they weren't in fact made here.

P.P.S. I am not entirely convinced that the 3 of 1737 is a 3. It may be an 8 of 1787. What do you think?

P.P.P.S. The diameter is a hair over 30 mm.

I was hoping someone at this forum would be able to answer that somewhat definitively. I can only speculate.

wow "Cartoonish" is right of George.
I hope someone can answer your questions.

Topics merged.

John Lorenzo is currently investigating or should I say ... thanks for the alert! Having some experts currently reviewing this example. An extraordinary piece. HIBERNIA in retrograde. It seems to belong to the Wood 38 Blacksmith group but its crudeness is even beyond the current varieties in this Wood # IMO (see my book Forgotten Coins) - Jeff Rock is taking the lead here since IMO he is the current world authority on counterfeit Irish. Allow several days ... never seen this piece before either obverse or reverse.

Thank you, John. I look forward to hearing back from you. BTW, the webmaster at C4 has put me in contact with Jeff, who has recommended a few books to get me started on my own. Apparently, I have a LOT of catching up to do :)

I am sure Jeff Rock got back to you to start researching this piece. You could post exactly where you got this piece. This would help possibly in its attribution. Some believe it could be a modern concoction piece such as from MARIO a 20thC forger who produced many pieces. Still under investigation. Never seen this piece anywhere ... not in any die charts for Irish 18thC counterfeits by C4 or any listed counterfeit under Canadian cataloging as in the Blacksmiths. As of today it remains an enigma. To be continued ... supply your transaction person. Pedigree can help ... here. JPL

There is a gathering of collectors soon of a C4 background I will pass the picture around of this item and possibly showcase the item in person at this gathering of 50 or so C4 collectors. Its October 3. However its UNIQUE for both its obverse and its reverse and I can say it matches NOTHING in the current existence of a Canadian Blacksmith types with some hints to Wood 38 but much more crude and different or an 18thC Irish 1/2d or 1/4d. This is not bad nor good its a question now "When/where was it possibly made? Lately I have been doing SEM/EDS combined with XRF analysis perhaps you may consider me doing some analyses with this piece to see if the trace elements are representative of something made in the 18thC. See this article in the Newman Numismatic Portal of a similar matter in which regal die 2 Reales of a base alloy were found and what are their meaning and consequences - https://nnp.washu.edu/Documents/Det...oach/1335840. After hand inspection I can judge to see if its worthy spending several hundred dollars to have it analyze at Michigan State University with SEM/EDS with a free XRF pre-screen from an associate of mine. This takes several months for SEM/EDS and 2-3 weeks for XRF since its flown from NJ out to the west coast. Let me know if you decide to go ahead. We would do a quick XRF first then tear it apart (so to speak) after October 3 showcase with SEM/EDS if justified. John Lorenzo P.S. You can see my other SEM/EDS studies by putting the term SEM/EDS in the Search venue box at the Newman Portal the latest being why do Jefferson nickels of the WWII era laminate with such a high frequency?