William III Half Penny?

[Silvermonkey]

Earlier today I was exploring a new wooded area. I have found colonial era relics and coins nearby, but not exactly in this same location. About 60 minutes into my hunt, I came across a solid, repeating " 77" on my AT-Pro. It sounded good, so I dug it. Out popped a large copper ( 7 grams, 27 mm). After some very gentle cleaning at home, I was able to see enough detail to confuse me...At first I thought it was a KG III, but after some fevered internet searching, I think I have found a William III Half penny! I would greatly appreciate any help in confirming (or rejecting) this ID. Also- Any recommendations for further cleaning/ preserving would be appreciated. Thanks and HH.

 

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[dirtdigginfool]

AWESOME early copper! Sorry, no help with the identification, but one if the sharp-eyed coin guys here will be all over that soon enough! Congrats, looking forward to seeing proper i.d.......ddf

 

[FreeBirdTim]

Doesn't look like a KG I or a KG III half penny, so I would say it's a William III half penny. Great find!

 

[CASPER-2]

 

[Rick (Nova Scotia)]

Yep, green check, 1695-1701. I have 2 W&M, but not one of those.
You have nothing more to clean. Its IDable as is, and thats pretty good for a 300+ year old copper.

 

[against the wind]

That's an old copper,,
Congratulations

 

[Scrappy]

Nice digs Bud! That copper is reaching back for sure. Rick has the dates right and I agree with my buddy in the great white north, and wouldn't clean it any more. Rock on!

 

[Scrappy]

Yep, green check, 1695-1701. I have 2 W&M, but not one of those.
You have nothing more to clean. Its IDable as is, and thats pretty good for a 300+ year old copper.

Funny you have 2 W&M and no W3's. I have the opposite problem with 3 W3's and no W&M's.

 

[Jeff H]

Nice! Looks like it has a very frail patina. Any liquid (water, peroxide, oil) cleaning not likely to enhance its appearance and could possibly ruin a very nice coin. If it was mine, I would maybe brush the loose dirt off, put some Ren wax on it and call it a day.

 

[CRUSADER]

Yeap Will III Halfpenny.

 

[trapperart]

Congrats on the nice old copper

 

[Rick (Nova Scotia)]

Funny you have 2 W&M and no W3's. I have the opposite problem with 3 W3's and no W&M's.

They are both very hard to come by, not only because they are pretty old for this continent, but also because both types were made for a very short time. Heck even Geo I with an 8 year run are tough to find.

 

[Wildcat1750]

Congratulations on the rare copper find!

 

[Don in SJ]

They are both very hard to come by, not only because they are pretty old for this continent, but also because both types were made for a very short time. Heck even Geo I with an 8 year run are tough to find.

They actually seem to be not hard at all to find in New Jersey. My friend Wayne as of 13 years ago when he wrote an article for C4 Newsletter about finding 1000 colonial coins in NJ, I just checked and at that time he had 42 William III but only 4 W&M Halfpence. I have nowhere near his finds, but a William III or W&M is not hard in my area either, a bit further south than my friend. I have approx 20 Williams, of which I believe 2 are W&M. Almost all are heavily worn due to being in circulation for a long period of time in the colonies........ The William found in this post is a Type 3 which dates it only to 1699-1701 If you could see reverse details the right hand would be resting on the knee on this type instead of being raised in the air. Don

 

[Ahab8]

That's a great early copper buddy. Nice job

 

[Professor of Engineering]

Great old copper save, congratulations!

 

[CRUSADER]

They actually seem to be not hard at all to find in New Jersey. My friend Wayne as of 13 years ago when he wrote an article for C4 Newsletter about finding 1000 colonial coins in NJ, I just checked and at that time he had 42 William III but only 4 W&M Halfpence. I have nowhere near his finds, but a William III or W&M is not hard in my area either, a bit further south than my friend. I have approx 20 Williams, of which I believe 2 are W&M. Almost all are heavily worn due to being in circulation for a long period of time in the colonies........ The William found in this post is a Type 3 which dates it only to 1699-1701 If you could see reverse details the right hand would be resting on the knee on this type instead of being raised in the air. Don

Funny, you seem to be on our page when it comes to stats...

 

[Silvermonkey]

A big thank you to everyone for their feedback and encouragement! I am absolutely thrilled to have found a 300+ year old coin! I never imagined finding anything that dates from the late 1600's to the very early 1700's. I'm still kind'a in shock...
Happy Hunting to all in 2017!

 

[CRUSADER]

A big thank you to everyone for their feedback and encouragement! I am absolutely thrilled to have found a 300+ year old coin! I never imagined finding anything that dates from the late 1600's to the very early 1700's. I'm still kind'a in shock...
Happy Hunting to all in 2017!

This takes nothing away from the find, but just remember if your using this coin to help date the site/area it's wear suggests it was lost in circa 1740s.