Heritage World Coin Auctions
NYINC Signature Sale 3030 5-6 January 2014
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Great Britain
George III pattern gilt Halfpenny 1788, by J.P. Droz, Peck-966, RENDER TO CESAR raised lettered edge, Late Soho strike, "Brown Gilt" variety, PR66 NGC, clearly a wonderful example of this type, the fields really choice and reflective, the portrait and Britannia both crisply struck up, the gilding just as it should look -- golden with a coppery glow -- and there are no carbon spots or fuzzy areas or flaws. The reason for this kind of gilding has never been made clear; it looks very different from the bright golden yellow glow of the normal gilt pieces. What it is, intentionally, is distinctive, as if made to show a sample, which is exactly why it was made. This coin is one of a number of variants prepared at Matthew Boulton and James Watt's mint at Birmingham, the first date of the era being this one, 1788. Prior to this time, copper coins used in the British isles were problematic, more crudely if charmingly made on ages-old, hand-powered presses from 1770 through 1775 at the Royal Mint inside the walls of the old Tower of London. (We offer a fabulous example of this "First Issue" coinage elsewhere in this sale, a glorious piece dated 1772.) These pieces, in the name of George III, were created using a continuation of the method employed to coin "small change" during the previous reign (1729 to 1754), which pieces became notorious as being easily counterfeited, often in Ireland for export to the American colonies. Copies were so fluidly issued that it is now thought that more counterfeits were made than official pieces. Finally, by the 1780s, the minting authorities had had enough, and they contracted with the Soho Mint to make coppers that would defy all attempts to imitate them. James Watt's revolutionary steam presses were a major part of Boulton's operation at Birmingham. Initially these machines were used to make buttons and other hard objects. They were a major purpose behind Watt's invention. But Boulton had a keen mind and a rapacious purse, which caused his button operation to go into high gear as a money maker when he was awarded the contract to make new farthings and halfpennies, and the never-before-seen pennies and two-penny coppers, which issued from his coining presses in vast numbers beginning in 1797. Getting to that stage, however, was no mean task. He joined in partnership with Watt to gain use of his steam-driven machines. They were massive things, having heavy cylinders and gigantic belts to drive them. These presses could pound out an endless stream of perfectly made, consistent looking coins of such intricate styling that counterfeiting in England was essentially shut down on the spot. Chief among the features which defied imitation were the sharp rims and edges, made by heavy collars which formed the coins perfectly as the steam press turned the blank copper flan into molten metal for a split second. Imagine what gleam pervaded the minting rooms as these bright coppers poured into bins by the tens of thousands! But those still-common coins of 1797 to 1799 were finalized in their form and appearance only after much trial and effort, beginning with the samples or patterns of 1788, as seen in this lot. Many, many variants were created, judged upon, rejected and finally approved for production, to create a kind and quality of copper coinage never before seen in the British Isles, and still today recognized as major achievements of the Industrial Revolution. And now, here, in this lot, you have a chance to acquire one of the very finest survivors of those first attempts at modernizing one of the most-used coins of the British people -- the humble halfpenny.
Estimate: 1500-2000 USD
George III pattern gilt Halfpenny 1788, by J.P. Droz, Peck-966, RENDER TO CESAR raised lettered edge, Late Soho strike, "Brown Gilt" variety, PR66 NGC, clearly a wonderful example of this type, the fields really choice and reflective, the portrait and Britannia both crisply struck up, the gilding just as it should look -- golden with a coppery glow -- and there are no carbon spots or fuzzy areas or flaws. The reason for this kind of gilding has never been made clear; it looks very different from the bright golden yellow glow of the normal gilt pieces. What it is, intentionally, is distinctive, as if made to show a sample, which is exactly why it was made. This coin is one of a number of variants prepared at Matthew Boulton and James Watt's mint at Birmingham, the first date of the era being this one, 1788. Prior to this time, copper coins used in the British isles were problematic, more crudely if charmingly made on ages-old, hand-powered presses from 1770 through 1775 at the Royal Mint inside the walls of the old Tower of London. (We offer a fabulous example of this "First Issue" coinage elsewhere in this sale, a glorious piece dated 1772.) These pieces, in the name of George III, were created using a continuation of the method employed to coin "small change" during the previous reign (1729 to 1754), which pieces became notorious as being easily counterfeited, often in Ireland for export to the American colonies. Copies were so fluidly issued that it is now thought that more counterfeits were made than official pieces. Finally, by the 1780s, the minting authorities had had enough, and they contracted with the Soho Mint to make coppers that would defy all attempts to imitate them. James Watt's revolutionary steam presses were a major part of Boulton's operation at Birmingham. Initially these machines were used to make buttons and other hard objects. They were a major purpose behind Watt's invention. But Boulton had a keen mind and a rapacious purse, which caused his button operation to go into high gear as a money maker when he was awarded the contract to make new farthings and halfpennies, and the never-before-seen pennies and two-penny coppers, which issued from his coining presses in vast numbers beginning in 1797. Getting to that stage, however, was no mean task. He joined in partnership with Watt to gain use of his steam-driven machines. They were massive things, having heavy cylinders and gigantic belts to drive them. These presses could pound out an endless stream of perfectly made, consistent looking coins of such intricate styling that counterfeiting in England was essentially shut down on the spot. Chief among the features which defied imitation were the sharp rims and edges, made by heavy collars which formed the coins perfectly as the steam press turned the blank copper flan into molten metal for a split second. Imagine what gleam pervaded the minting rooms as these bright coppers poured into bins by the tens of thousands! But those still-common coins of 1797 to 1799 were finalized in their form and appearance only after much trial and effort, beginning with the samples or patterns of 1788, as seen in this lot. Many, many variants were created, judged upon, rejected and finally approved for production, to create a kind and quality of copper coinage never before seen in the British Isles, and still today recognized as major achievements of the Industrial Revolution. And now, here, in this lot, you have a chance to acquire one of the very finest survivors of those first attempts at modernizing one of the most-used coins of the British people -- the humble halfpenny.
Estimate: 1500-2000 USD