Heritage World Coin Auctions
CSNS Signature Sale 3073 25-26 & 29 Apr 2019
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Great Britain
Anne copper Proof Trial 1/2 Penny ND (1702-1714) PR64 Brown NGC, Peck-713 (ER). A charming double-obverse trial for a Halfpenny that never came to be, and a reminder of a long-forgotten failed mint experiment. Although copper coinage exists for William III up until 1701 and for George I from 1717 onwards, there is a glaring gap in its production during the reign of Queen Anne, an absence attributable to non-other than Sir Isaac Newton, appointed Master of the Mint in 1699. Newton was keen to use solely pure copper for production of coinage, and to undertake the entire coining process in the Mint (rather than purchasing ready-made blanks as previous). This would, he felt, allow for the production of better-quality coins at a lower cost to the Mint. Unfortunately, he overlooked the beneficial role played by tin impurities in copper which had served to strengthen it, and so this weaker metal coupled with the inability of the Mint's mills to reduce the blanks to the required thickness rendered his experimental planchets ultimately unsuitable for hammering, omitting them from use in coinage.
This piece has coped with the hammering process far better than many of this scarce issue, bearing just one small crack at 9 o'clock to one of the obverses; the strike is very sharp and has left a blossom of fiery luster around the crisp devices. It is hard to imagine any moneyer finding this coin substandard in any way, appearing near-perfect and substantiated by its near-gem grade. A captivating piece of British numismatic history and scarcely encountered so fine as this.
From the Lake County Collection
HID02901242017
Estimate: 1200-1500 USD
Anne copper Proof Trial 1/2 Penny ND (1702-1714) PR64 Brown NGC, Peck-713 (ER). A charming double-obverse trial for a Halfpenny that never came to be, and a reminder of a long-forgotten failed mint experiment. Although copper coinage exists for William III up until 1701 and for George I from 1717 onwards, there is a glaring gap in its production during the reign of Queen Anne, an absence attributable to non-other than Sir Isaac Newton, appointed Master of the Mint in 1699. Newton was keen to use solely pure copper for production of coinage, and to undertake the entire coining process in the Mint (rather than purchasing ready-made blanks as previous). This would, he felt, allow for the production of better-quality coins at a lower cost to the Mint. Unfortunately, he overlooked the beneficial role played by tin impurities in copper which had served to strengthen it, and so this weaker metal coupled with the inability of the Mint's mills to reduce the blanks to the required thickness rendered his experimental planchets ultimately unsuitable for hammering, omitting them from use in coinage.
This piece has coped with the hammering process far better than many of this scarce issue, bearing just one small crack at 9 o'clock to one of the obverses; the strike is very sharp and has left a blossom of fiery luster around the crisp devices. It is hard to imagine any moneyer finding this coin substandard in any way, appearing near-perfect and substantiated by its near-gem grade. A captivating piece of British numismatic history and scarcely encountered so fine as this.
From the Lake County Collection
HID02901242017
Estimate: 1200-1500 USD