Ira and Larry Goldberg Auctioneers
Auction 116 2-3 Jun 2020
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Great Britain. Halfpenny, 1694. S.3452; KM-475.3. William and Mary. Obverse, conjoined busts of joint monarchs. Reverse; Britannia seated. Date in legend. Unusually well struck for this crudely made issue. Practically as made, with a hint of original color. Very rare thus. High catalogue value of £1150 (around $1500) in XF. Unpriced in higher grades. PCGS graded MS-61 Brown. Estimated Value $1,200 - 1,400
*Peck points out in his 'English Tin, Copper and Bronze Coins' that William and Mary were not declared joint sovereigns, formally, until 13 February 1689. Continued striking of the tin coinage of James II was however approved, and production of tin coins for the new monarchs began soon after. This continued until 1692, by which time the public were dissatisfied with the failure to produce new copper coins. The tin coins became corroded, they had little intrinsic value, and they could easily be counterfeited. After some failed attempts to produce brass and tin coins mixed with copper, a patent was granted to Andrew Corbet for coining 780 tons of copper halfpennies and farthings for 9 years, from 25th March 1693. Apparently, Mr Neale, then Master of the Mint, had second thoughts and soon took away Corbet's patent. On 17 April 1694 the House of Commons passed a resolution against the resumption of tin coin production and decided on a new coinage of English copper of 'intrinsic value.' A licence was granted to Sir Joseph Herne, Sir Francis Parry and two colleagues. The resulting pieces were only made with the date 1694, as Mary died from smallpox on 28 December 1694. The majority of these copper coins had a dark, often black tone, and it is believed that English copper may have contained more impurities than the Swedish copper used in the reign of Charles II - especially sulphur compounds. It is certain that well produced 1694-dated copper coins in high grade are now very rare.
*Peck points out in his 'English Tin, Copper and Bronze Coins' that William and Mary were not declared joint sovereigns, formally, until 13 February 1689. Continued striking of the tin coinage of James II was however approved, and production of tin coins for the new monarchs began soon after. This continued until 1692, by which time the public were dissatisfied with the failure to produce new copper coins. The tin coins became corroded, they had little intrinsic value, and they could easily be counterfeited. After some failed attempts to produce brass and tin coins mixed with copper, a patent was granted to Andrew Corbet for coining 780 tons of copper halfpennies and farthings for 9 years, from 25th March 1693. Apparently, Mr Neale, then Master of the Mint, had second thoughts and soon took away Corbet's patent. On 17 April 1694 the House of Commons passed a resolution against the resumption of tin coin production and decided on a new coinage of English copper of 'intrinsic value.' A licence was granted to Sir Joseph Herne, Sir Francis Parry and two colleagues. The resulting pieces were only made with the date 1694, as Mary died from smallpox on 28 December 1694. The majority of these copper coins had a dark, often black tone, and it is believed that English copper may have contained more impurities than the Swedish copper used in the reign of Charles II - especially sulphur compounds. It is certain that well produced 1694-dated copper coins in high grade are now very rare.