1722 ROSA AMERICANA Coin!!!

[Patriot Relics]

Hey guys,

It is about to get very cold here in SC so I broke out the Safari after work for some sunset hunting. After around 30 minutes of constant pull tabs I started debating bumping up the discrim for the last 20 minutes of detecting to be more productive. As I laid the Safari on the ground, a weak 17-19 signal rang out. Seeing as I had dug 10 tabs already I figured why not 1 more...and out pops this!



Visible on the coin is a "2 ROSA AMER" although it has been cut.

Here's what they look like uncut



These were only minted for the American and Irish colonies between 1722-1724. Awesome piece of colonial currency lying in the dirt for the last 307 years.

Nearby I also found these...an unknown and very ornate copper button (maybe a different period) and a shoe buckle.

 

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[pong12211]

Nice find. Thanks for sharing and congrats on the success.

 

[Ahab8]

Wow you've really had some great finds recently. Nice job on getting on some old productive sites

 

[Patriot Relics]

Thanks pong, my first coin of 2015...set the bar a little high haha.

 

[dirtlooter]

wow, very cool, gotta love the history there, some really great finds, congrats on the last minute finds

 

[Iron Patch]

That coin looks more like it's broken not cut, so it's likely a cast counterfeit.

 

[Patriot Relics]

Would be an easy counterfeit as they were a mix "Bath metal" composed of 75% brass, 20% zinc (mixed with tin and bismuth) and 5% silver and were to weigh slightly less than half the weight of English coins. Do you think it was broken after it was discovered to be fake? Can't think of a reason why such small currency would be cut.

 

[Patriot Relics]

Some interesting history:

Wood was authorized to make 120 halfpence to the pound (compared to forty-six halfpence to the pound at the Tower of London mint) which, according to Mossman, would yield a 140% profit after adjusting for production costs. Unfortunately, Wood had been required to pay the Duchess of Kendal £10,000 for his Irish indenture (apparently no additional charge was incurred for the American colonial indenture) so he was forced to mint his coins at an even lower weight in order to return a profit! These lightweight coins were not accepted by the colonists. Wood's penny was similar to a London halfpenny and his halfpenny was like the farthing, while his twopence did not correspond in weight to any currently circulating coin. In New York, merchants refused to accept the coins, while the General Assembly of Massachusetts in June of 1722 authorized the printing of £500 in one penny, two pence and three pence paper bills, rather than accept the Rosa Americana coins! Nevertheless, some colonies did accept them, although only reluctantly and only in limited quantities.

My theory based on the above is that it was refused by a merchant in Charleston due to its low weight and destroyed.

 

[Iron Patch]

Would be an easy counterfeit as they were a mix "Bath metal" composed of 75% brass, 20% zinc (mixed with tin and bismuth) and 5% silver and were to weigh slightly less than half the weight of English coins. Do you think it was broken after it was discovered to be fake? Can't think of a reason why such small currency would be cut.

If it's counterfeit they could have used any metals they wanted, but maybe a coin of that composition could snap like that if enough force was used. Was it dug in a farm field? Thinking about the look of my Twopence I think I could see it breaking and looking similar.

 

[Patriot Relics]

Yea, found in a field that was truck farmed in the early 1900s. Can't imagine you would counterfeit a coin generally not accepted by most merchants.

 

[Iron Patch]

Yea, found in a field that was truck farmed in the early 1900s. Can't imagine you would counterfeit a coin generally not accepted by most merchants.

I think counterfeit is just a possibility, but to address your comment if counterfeit coins can have impossible dates, or even be in reverse because the die was engraved the wrong way, pretty much anything is possible.

 

[BuckleBoy]

Great find, really far South! Nice to see such an old copper coming up. Really a stellar find!

Best Wishes,

Buck

 

[Patriot Relics]

Thanks Buck

 

[UnderMiner]

Wow, that that is awesome. 1722... Calico Jack Rackham was executed just 2 years earlier and Anne Bonny would have just been released from prison after her pirating shenanigans with him

 

[The Patriot]

real or counterfeit, nice OLD find!

 

[CASPER-2]

don't think ive ever seen a cut one before
here's my one and only

 

[Carolina Tom]

Very nice find. Congrats. GL&HH!

 

[beez0404]

I like it. And since you're not likely to be spending it and can hold it in your hand it's as real as it gets.

 

[Masterdan407]

Nice Finds

 

[Patriot Relics]

Nice looking coin Casper- I braved the cold this evening trying to find the other half. Although unsuccessful, I did recover a few silver plated flat buttons.