Help With Odd 1748 Half Penny, Elephant Man?

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Author	Replies: 6 / Views: 2,467
Harry213 Pillar of the Community United States 1126 Posts	Posted 10/03/2013 12:00 am I need help identifying this coin. I've owned it for awhile. Sorta remember picking it out of a dealers book or discount bin at a coin show a few years back. The 2x2 said 1748 English Half Penny $2.25 I never really took a good look at it until I was cataloging some of my coins the other night. And realized the design is not quite the same as that of a genuine 1748 Half penny. I think King George II is facing the wrong way. And he looks like elephant man with something that resembles an elephant trunk protruding from his face. I suspect it is a "non regal" coin. Could it have been struck over another coin? The weight is 4.3 grams and 27 mm diameter, on a thin .8 mm planchet. Report this Post to the Staff

fioti Pillar of the Community United States 4212 Posts	Posted 10/03/2013 10:46 am I have a '48/7, with Victoria on it, I believe. Interesting, let's wait for the UK guys. Report this Post to the Staff
Pertinax Pillar of the Community United Kingdom 2135 Posts	Posted 10/03/2013 11:49 am The date looks more like 1718 to me, which would be George I. The weight would be appropriate for a farthing but the diameter is that of a halfpenny. Could you check weight and diameter, please ? Report this Post to the Staff
january1may Pillar of the Community Russian Federation 5177 Posts	Posted 10/03/2013 11:50 am 1) It's way too light for a halfpenny. Way too large for a farthing though. 2) I don't think that's a 4 in there. With that in mind, the obvious guess would've been "1718 farthing", but they apparently don't exist. That said, if not for that (and the size), the design fits almost exactly. Then again, I know next to nothing about UK coins, so I'm not a good authority here Report this Post to the Staff
Harry213 Pillar of the Community United States 1126 Posts	Posted 10/03/2013 1:00 pm I assure you it looks like a 4 close up. But I wouldn't assume that it wasn't altered at some point in history. I zoomed in on the date in the photo below, to give you guys a better view. As for the question about the weight and size; I weighed and measured it again and the original numbers I posted are correct. However the diameter is actually 26.9 mm on my digital caliper. Just under the 27 mm I originally rounded up to. Report this Post to the Staff
philadelphian Pillar of the Community United States 3253 Posts	Posted 10/03/2013 1:29 pm The design of this coin is that of a halfpenny of George III. It is clearly a non-regal (counterfeit) issue, as the majority of "George III" halfpennies out there probably are, since the regal halfpennies of this style were only minted from 1770-75. Of course, the backroom coiners could date them however they wished, but to backdate this far, to twelve years before George III's coronation, when he was a ten-year-old prince in short pants, would only be seen in a small minority of the massive population of imitation George III halfpence, and might help to narrow down the "family" or "style" to which this specimen belongs, or on which side of the Atlantic it was coined. Edited by philadelphian 10/03/2013 1:41 pm Report this Post to the Staff
peter1234 Pillar of the Community United Kingdom 1351 Posts	Posted 10/03/2013 1:58 pm There appears to be 1 copper circulation 1718 1/4d (see the Petition crown site).Jaw dropping coins aswell. There are proofs/patterns in silver. The 1748 1/2d is just a typical evasion.(George 111's coins 1771-75 were the hardest hit) There are collectors of these contemporary forgeries but they do nothing for me. Apparently they were readily accepted by the public as Mint issue coins just were not available. Report this Post to the Staff
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