Isle of Man 1860 1/2 penny
This specimen was lot 30958 in Heritage sale 3081 (New York, January 2020), where it sold for $3,300. The catalog description[1] noted, "Isle of Man: British Dependency. Victoria Proof 1/2 Penny 1860 PR64 Brown PCGS. An extremely rare type and supposedly one of just 10 or fewer examples produced, and the only certified specimen by either NGC or PCGS. Sleek, chocolate brown surfaces display an exceptional patina for copper, flashing blues and magentas in the field deepening to red at the peripheries. The strike is exquisite and has left the fine detail of Victoria's portrait and every rivet on the reverse triskelis in bold relief. Very rarely seen at auction, let alone in this quality, and an absolutely superb Isle of Man Proof sure to elicit competitive bidding." Copper farthings, halfpennies and pennies were struck for the Isle of Man in 1839 but large scale production was never undertaken. Proofs of the halfpennies are known for 1841 and 1860 (shown here).
Recorded mintage: unknown but only a few proofs.
Specification: copper.
Catalog reference: KM 13, S-7418c.
- Michael, Thomas, and Tracy L. Schmidt, Standard Catalog of World Coins, 1801-1900, 9th ed., Iola, WI: Krause Publications, 2019.
- Skingley, Philip, ed., Standard Catalogue of British Coins: Coins of Scotland, Ireland and the Islands (Jersey, Guernsey, Man & Lundy), Pre-Decimal Issues, 2nd edition, London: Spink & Son, 2003.
- Lobel, Richard, Mark Davidson, Allan Hailstone and Eleni Calligas, Coincraft's Standard Catalogue of the Coins of Scotland, Ireland, Channel Islands & Isle of Man, London: Coincraft, 1999.
- [1]Bierrenbach, Cristiano, Warren Tucker and Sam Spiegel, Heritage World and Ancient Coins Auction 3081, featuring the Caranett Collection, Dallas, TX: Heritage Auction Galleries, 2019.
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