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Replies: 74 / Views: 7,211 |
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Pillar of the Community
Canada
857 Posts |
Quote: . with a less than flattering bust of Alfred the Great. With all due respect to the designer, whom I imagine has been deceased for the better part of 200 years, I think "Alfred the average" would have fit better.
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Valued Member
Canada
160 Posts |
TerryT, funnily enough, I came across that exact same die variety when I was sent the coin in error after a recent eBay purchase. I share the seller's image below, as I have since returned the coin.  In Anton and Kesse's Forgotten Coins of the North American Colonies (1992), a 1774-dated farthing with the same error and of similar obverse design is listed as #107. The coin shows similarities to the "Wedge Top Sevens" and "Topless Ordinals" families of Moore et al.'s recent attempt to catalogue counterfeits in "Contemporary Counterfeit Halfpenny & Farthing Families" (2018). Both those families are denoted as "summary families" and have not been completely researched; they show similarities, and are occasionally muled, with other families. They tentatively assign Anton-Kesse 107 to the "Topless Ordinals" family based on the original plate image. I've only started working my way through the book. The authors definitely had (and have) their work cut out for them with the sheer complexity and volume of contemporary counterfeit varieties! Tom and Numis-Northerner, it almost appears to me that the caricature-like image was done purposefully... for what reason I do not know.
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Pillar of the Community
Canada
635 Posts |
Thanks so much for that info, Blargish. One of the few I can mark a number for. Here are 2 thin 1773 farthings (not as reddish as photos). Left one is 3.65 gm., 22.5 mm.. Right one is 2.57 gm., 22 mm.. It looks like they actually circulated a lot.   While looking over my other ones, I think this one was made with the same dies as the left one above. It's heavier and thicker, 4.02gm., smaller in diameter, 22 mm. but has the same details.  
Edited by TerryT 09/03/2020 6:37 pm
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Pillar of the Community
Australia
1228 Posts |
i always wonder if people would have gotten angry at receiving money like this even back then? I know you be angry at getting fake silver, but when it fake copper I wonder if people would get angry when they traded it for like a bar of soap.
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Pillar of the Community
Canada
635 Posts |
Edited by TerryT 09/04/2020 7:44 pm
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Pillar of the Community
Canada
635 Posts |
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Pillar of the Community
Canada
635 Posts |
Edited by TerryT 09/17/2020 01:47 am
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Valued Member
United States
77 Posts |
I have a great interest in Contemporary Counterfeit Halfpennies and Farthings. I've been collecting both British and Irish for well over 12 years. Here are several early types! Hope you enjoy them...  
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Valued Member
United States
77 Posts |
Let me try posting a couple more... Enjoy!  
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Pillar of the Community
United Kingdom
530 Posts |
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Valued Member
Canada
160 Posts |
sjkrose, those are some stellar examples! I especially like the high grade 1752 George II Simian. Since I've gotten the book "Contemporary Counterfeit Halfpenny and Farthing Families" by Moore et al, I've slowly been trying to work my way through this underappreciated area of numismatics. (Your Simian is listed as die pair 14-52A in the George II Simian Family) I recently cherrypicked a similar one off of eBay and will post that when I get the chance.
That backwards 1771 (the AK-4 plate coin?) is also pretty amazing. That diesinker really blew it on a number of levels haha
zookeeperz, for the scarce one are you referring to your GREGORY III PON evasion? That's a neat one. It's listed as Atkins 355.
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Pillar of the Community

United States
9377 Posts |
I have currently 40+ examples in my collection. A few favorites. "1774", fat letters, skinny 7's. Obverse off-center to the northeast. Rev. countermarked, distinctive rounded shield, no stop.   "1775", a whistling, fat-faced George with an oddball Britannia (look at her torso) with rev. stop.  "1775", double struck obverse & reverse, possibly struck over another type on a ground-down and recycled planchet. The double strike gives George a wonderful double chin. Linear, sloping forehead which merges with the nose. No rev. stop.   "1773", struck over an unknown type, most visible on the obverse right of the bust. Pronounced double chin, with fat jowls, a closed mouth and a broken-looking nose. A cramped, narrow date set very far left. R1 & E2 obverse are broken letters. Thick, deeply cut triangular denticles. The reverse uses two different letter punches for A1 & A2 (look at the serifs and the thickness of the verticals) and no stop. The lower exergue line is heavily recut over a previous 3rd line (?) at its leftmost side in a very Escherian manner.  
Longhorn Coins & Exonumia Member ANA - EAC - TNA - SSDC - CCT #890 "Most of the things worth doing in the world had been declared impossible before they were done." -- Louis D. Brandeis
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Pillar of the Community

United States
9377 Posts |
"1773" Double chin, sharply pointed and prominent nose with deep nostrils. Very crude letter punches with missing serifs, broken letters, and a deeply pointed V in GEORGIVS (cf. above examples with a more round-bottomed V.) Reverse uses an upside-down V punch for A2 ("Unbarred A" style) and the left lower serif of N2 is blundered and heavily recut. Evenly-spaced skinny date set left. Rev. stop.  "1730" evasion issue, George II type bust Atkins 156, ex Tony Terranova coll. "GEORGE RULES / BRITAINS ISLES", "IC" under bust   "1797" evasion issue, George II type bust Atkins 297 "GLORIOVS PEL.LEW / BRITISH TARS." Very poor quality planchet.  "1774" evasion issue, George III type bust "IC" under bust and after rev. legend (wherein separated by a rosette) "CLAUDUIS ROMANUS . IC . / DELECTAT RUS I*C" Extremely crudely engraved and struck, even by the rather low standards of the type.  
Longhorn Coins & Exonumia Member ANA - EAC - TNA - SSDC - CCT #890 "Most of the things worth doing in the world had been declared impossible before they were done." -- Louis D. Brandeis
Edited by paralyse 11/05/2020 9:11 pm
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Valued Member
United States
77 Posts |
blargish, The backwards 1771 is the Anton-Kesse plate coin. This one was acquired via Stacks several years ago! Here are a couple of high grade Irish... 
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Valued Member
Canada
160 Posts |
sjkrose, tough to find examples as nice as those! paralyse, I'm especially a fan of the "British Tars" series. It has somewhat of a link to Canadian colonial numismatics through Atkins 271, among others, which are imitated by the Canadian Blacksmith/Evasion Wood 33 (Atkins 273). Wood 33, Atkins 273. Interestingly, Atkins misinterpreted the legends, which read as follows: Obv. G(E/L)ORIUVS·III·VIS· Rev. BRITI· 
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Replies: 74 / Views: 7,211 |
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