Great Britain 1701 1/2 penny
This specimen was lot 1988 in Jean Elsen sale 158 (Brussels, March 2024), where it sold for €1,000 (about US$1,300 including buyer's fees). The catalog description[1] noted,
"GRANDE-BRETAGNE, Guillaume III (1694-1702), Cu halfpenny, 1701. D/ B. l., dr. et cuir. à d. R/ Britannia assise à g., ten. un rameau et une lance. Nettoyé. Coups sur la tranche. Rare dans cette qualité. Très Beau à Superbe. (Great Britain, William III, 1694-1702, copper half penny of 1701. Obverse: laureate, draped and armored bust right; reverse: Britannia seated left, holding a branch and a spear. Cleaned, rim nicks, rare in this quality, Very Fine - Extremely Fine.)"
Tin halfpence were attempted under James II 1685-87 and again under William III 1689-92. Tin farthings were a similar failure. Subsequent issues such as this one from 1699-1701, were copper, a much more stable metal.
Reported Mintage: unknown.
Specification: copper; this specimen 9,60 g.
Catalog reference: KM 503, S. 3556.
- 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.
- Michael, Thomas, Standard Catalog of World Coins, 1701-1800, 7th ed., Iola, WI: Krause Publications, 2016.
- [1]Elsen, Philippe, et al., Vente Publique 158, Monnaies de la Principauté de Liège, Brussels: Jean Elsen et ses Fils S.A., 2024.
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