How Far Back Can We Go? Seventh Edition! Ended At 1380 Waiting On 1379

1773 Virginia Half Penny

Qing Dynasty 1 cash Type E H22. 212
Mint: Chiowan - Ministry of Revenue (South)
The Emperor Qianlong a.k.a Gaozong
1768 - 1773


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Not sure. Apologies if it's out if place.

1772:
British halfpenny:

Coin weight:

The theme for 1772 is apparently "heavy circulation" when it comes to my coins!

1772 - France - Sol
I suspect this coin is struck over something else but can't find listings as such.






1772 A - Prussia - 1/3 Thaler




1772 SC - Austria - 5 Kreuzer (Burgau)

"1771" - Evasion "Halfpenny"
Gregory. III. Pon. / Britain. Rules.

Almost certainly struck in the 1780s. An attempt was made to stop the circulation of imitation halfpennies that were flooding commerce and being used to turn a profit at the expense of His Majesty -- colonists and other enterprising individuals and merchants would take in genuine copper coins and pay out change or settle accounts with the underweight copper. This was especially done with the poor, laborers, and other lower classes, among whom illiteracy rates were still very high.

As long as it "looked" like a genuine halfpenny, it would pass as genuine right up until someone weighed it -- usually a merchant -- and the poor fellow who was attempting to pay found out they had been swindled, making their already poor financial situation that much worse.

Since just dating the coin "1775" or another non-existent date was no longer legally sufficient to avoid forgery charges (the penalties for which included execution by hanging!) it was decided to make coins with fictitious legends, often covertly or overtly satirical or political in nature, that managed to once again evade the counterfeiting laws.

An angry Government decided to eradicate the problem once and for all by simply discontinuing all regal copper coinage. This went for naught, as the equally-angry copper mine companies in Ireland and in Wales began to develop and issue copper halfpenny trade tokens - the future Conder tokens. After all, with no copper, threepence silver was the smallest widely-circulating denomination, and since even 3d still had purchasing power enough to warrant doing so, merchants needed a way to make change. (It would be as though the smallest denomination of coins or currency in circulation were something like a £10 note, and had you wanted to buy something in cash for £3.99 or whatnot, you'd be out the difference between that and your £10 -- there were no debit or charge cards in the late 18th century!)






Here is the "big sister" to the 5 Kreuzer Maria Theresia silver coin I posted for 1772.

1771 - Austria (Vienna) - 20 Kreuzer
(or 1/3 Gulden, or 1/6 Conventionsthaler...fun times with denominational shenanigans)

1770 British halfpenny: