Great Britain 1735 half penny
This specimen was lot 40158 in Stack's Bowers ANA sale (Chicago, August 2024), where it sold for $3,360. The catalog description[1] noted, "GREAT BRITAIN. 1/2 Penny, 1735. London Mint. George II. PCGS MS-65 Brown. The single finest example of the date in the PCGS census, this exceptional Gem provides a shimmering red-brown nature with intense lustrous brilliance populating the protected areas and much of the fields." During the reign of George II, the half penny was the largest copper denomination, the penny being struck in silver. Copper pennies would not be introduced until the 1790's. This type is listed for 1729-39 and is fairly common in worn condition. The mint did not produce near enough small change for the industrial boom of the eighteenth century, leading to a proliferation of private tokens. The situation would not be rectified until the reform of 1817.
Recorded mintage: unknown.
Specification: copper.
Catalog reference: S-3717; KM-566.
- Lobel, Richard, Mark Davidson, Allan Hailstone and Eleni Calligas, Coincraft's Standard Catalogue of English and UK Coins, 1066 to Date, London: Coincraft, 1995.
- Michael, Thomas, Standard Catalog of World Coins, 1701-1800, 7th ed., Iola, WI: Krause Publications, 2016.
- Freeman, Michael J., The Bronze Coinage of Great Britain, Rev. Ed., London: Spink & Son, 2006.
- Peck, C. Wilson, English Copper, Tin and Bronze Coins in the British Museum, 1558-1958, 2nd Ed., London: Oxford University Press, 1970.
- Skingley, Philip, ed., Standard Catalogue of British Coins: Coins of England & the United Kingdom, 46th edition, London: Spink & Son, 2011.
- [1]Orsini, Matt, Kyle Ponterio and Jeremy Bostwick, August 2024 Global Showcase Auction, World & Ancient Coins, featuring The Emilio M. Ortiz Collection, The Richard Margolis Collection and The Rutherford Collection, Costa Mesa, CA: Stack's Bowers Galleries, Inc., 2024.
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