George II HALFPENNY English Mind or American made?

[Amergin]

Hello

Just Found at a NY 1700" saw mill site

a young bust KGII (1729 -1739)

Can’t tell if George II half penny is an English coin or a an American forgery
The “Britan”. The “N” is outside 28mm diameter of coin
So many made and so many copies

any advice or help much appreciated


The coin is very thin also

 

[PaddyB]

The clearest indication would be the weight - for a regal issue coin it should be around 9.8g, and certainly over 9 even with the corrosion.
With the thinness of yours I would think it is well under this - probably around 7g, which is typical of all the evasions and counterfeits.

Assuming it is underweight I would say it is a counterfeit rather than an evasion. The distinction is that Evasions have some obvious variations to the original design, which gets the makers out of being counterfeiters (a crime punishable by death on some occasions). As such it was probably made in the UK around Birmingham - millions were made at the end of the 18th century and into the early 19th century.

But still a nice find! It would be good if it could talk and tell us it's history!

 

[Hawks88]

That’s a beautiful coin find. Congrats

 

[Amergin]

Thank you so much
I have to get a small jewelry scale

what thickness are the tower of London minted half pennies?

 

[Amergin]

Thanks Hawk

I am over the moon, first colonial coin

 

[PaddyB]

Thank you so much
I have to get a small jewelry scale

what thickness are the tower of London minted half pennies?

There is no official answer to the thickness of these, but the regal ones definitely feel thicker and more substantial than most of the copies. Weight is still the best measure.

 

[l.cutler]

One thing to remember, English made counterfeits were more common than American made ones.

 

[Professor of Engineering]

Nice find!

 

[jerseyben]

An "American forgery" implies Machin's Mills (MM). Your coin is not MM.

 

[Amergin]

Thank You,, yes a lot of confirmation Definitely not from Machin,,

but I have a guy researching and saying maybe from other NYC or MA maker

will keep you posted

These pages are a good read

https://coins.nd.edu/ColCoin/ColCoinIntros/Atlee.intro.html

https://coins.nd.edu/ColCoin/ColCoinIntros/UnattributedCount.intro.html

 

[smokeythecat]

It is a contemporary counterfeit. BTW they are pretty much worth more than the official ones!

 

[Amergin]

Thank you, I am trying find a good catalog of British and american copies of George II

 

[jerseyben]

Thank You,, yes a lot of confirmation Definitely not from Machin,,

but I have a guy researching and saying maybe from other NYC or MA maker

will keep you posted

These pages are a good read

https://coins.nd.edu/ColCoin/ColCoinIntros/Atlee.intro.html

https://coins.nd.edu/ColCoin/ColCoinIntros/UnattributedCount.intro.html

Saying it is American/colonial contemporary counterfeit is the same things as saying it is MM. Anything with a Vlack # is considered part of the "MM" series by collectors. I understand that some of them may not have been made at Machin's Mills.

If you cannot attribute your coin to a Vlack #, then your coin is British in origin. I suspect it is a counterfeit. Yes, it would also be British in origin.

 

[Amergin]

Thanks Man
Just leaning about all this
The research is great

I wasn’t aware that Machin Mills as a term covered other private mints in US making Hapennies
I was sure it was British, but a dealer is convinced otherwise
Due to cut off AN in Britain which is outside circumstance of coin and location of nick between II. And REX when casting channel was removed
Both are 180 degrees from each other, this location he seen on NY 1770’s cast coins dated to 1730’s

and the sand texture of surface from mold indicated it was cast with worn detail
Let the search for answers continue

 

[Amergin]

Hello Paddy
it weighs at 5.1g
The thickness Ranges from .9mm to 1.3mm View attachment 1615155

 

[Iron Patch]

Thanks Man
Just leaning about all this
The research is great

I wasn’t aware that Machin Mills as a term covered other private mints in US making Hapennies
I was sure it was British, but a dealer is convinced otherwise
Due to cut off AN in Britain which is outside circumstance of coin and location of nick between II. And REX when casting channel was removed
Both are 180 degrees from each other, this location he seen on NY 1770’s cast coins dated to 1730’s

and the sand texture of surface from mold indicated it was cast with worn detail
Let the search for answers continue

Agree it's quite likely a cast counterfeit, but there's no way to know where it was cast. More like in Britain, but no way to know for sure.