Great Britain 1858 half penny
This specimen was lot 1550 in Goldberg sale 116 (Los Angeles, June 2020), where it sold for $180. The catalog description[1] noted, "Great Britain. Halfpenny, 1858. Large date. Victoria. Uncirculated with much original mint red. PCGS graded MS-64 Red & Brown." The copper pennies of Victoria were issued 1841-60 in fairly large quantities but are scarce compared to the massive issues of the smaller bronze pennies of 1860-94. The pure copper composition also caused the coins to wear more quickly than bronze, making high grade specimens even scarcer. Like the United States large cents of the same period, many varieties exist, avidly pursued by specialists.
Recorded mintage: 2,473,000 including 1858/6 and 1858/7.
Specification: copper.
Catalog reference: S.3949; KM-726.
- Michael, Thomas, and Tracy L. Schmidt, Standard Catalog of World Coins, 1801-1900, 9th ed., Iola, WI: Krause Publications, 2019.
- Bressett, Kenneth E., A Guide Book of English Coins, Nineteenth and Twentieth Centuries, 2nd Ed., Racine, WI: Whitman Publishing, 1962.
- Lobel, Richard, Mark Davidson, Allan Hailstone and Eleni Calligas, Coincraft's Standard Catalogue of English and UK Coins, 1066 to Date, London: Coincraft, 1995.
- Skingley, Philip, ed., Standard Catalogue of British Coins: Coins of England & the United Kingdom, 46th edition, London: Spink & Son, 2011.
- 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.
- [1]Goldberg, Ira, Larry Goldberg, John Lavender, Yifu Che, Jason Villareal and Stephen Harvey, Goldberg Sale 116: the Pre-Long Beach Auction, Los Angeles: Goldberg Coins and Collectibles, 2020.
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