- Mar 30, 2020
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Almost two years ago to the day I found this wonderful Machin's Mills counterfeit halfpence. It was an isolate and my feeling is it was lost while someone was accessing a beautiful estuary which still loaded with waterfowl and shellfish to this day. King George II halfpence are my most common colonial coin find. George III coinage is pretty rare for me, I only have found three. I have posted the MM next to a 1731 KGII I detected earlier this year.
During the Revolutionary War my area of Long Island had split loyalties. There were still bad feelings among locals who were conscripted to fight during the French & Indian War and sent up the Hudson Valley to fight. Apparently the Brits treated them like dogs. When George Washington lost the Battle for NYC at the early onset of the Rev. War, a good portion of the local populace fled to CT. Coastal New England had strong ties and were adept at sea travel. The Brits anchored nearby and basically pillaged the countryside for food, fodder, lumber, and firewood. NYC and Long Island were an important piece of the British strategy. They knew the population and centers for resources. It was a base to split the colonies in half.
When I posted the Machin's on TNet I did not know exactly what it was. Certainly I had heard of non-royal or evasion and counterfeit pieces. TNet members even gave me the catalog number! What I find interesting about this example, and the reason for this post, is to show the unusual detail to Britannia's portrait. Given that the planchets were smaller, the dies often amateurish or worn; I was lucky to get a strike favoring this detail. If you look at the attached article on the Machin's Mill operation, you will see examples poor in this detail. It's a great story of American History if you have not read up on it check out the link.
www.novanumismatics.com
During the Revolutionary War my area of Long Island had split loyalties. There were still bad feelings among locals who were conscripted to fight during the French & Indian War and sent up the Hudson Valley to fight. Apparently the Brits treated them like dogs. When George Washington lost the Battle for NYC at the early onset of the Rev. War, a good portion of the local populace fled to CT. Coastal New England had strong ties and were adept at sea travel. The Brits anchored nearby and basically pillaged the countryside for food, fodder, lumber, and firewood. NYC and Long Island were an important piece of the British strategy. They knew the population and centers for resources. It was a base to split the colonies in half.
When I posted the Machin's on TNet I did not know exactly what it was. Certainly I had heard of non-royal or evasion and counterfeit pieces. TNet members even gave me the catalog number! What I find interesting about this example, and the reason for this post, is to show the unusual detail to Britannia's portrait. Given that the planchets were smaller, the dies often amateurish or worn; I was lucky to get a strike favoring this detail. If you look at the attached article on the Machin's Mill operation, you will see examples poor in this detail. It's a great story of American History if you have not read up on it check out the link.
The Machin’s Mills Counterfeit Halfpence – NovaNumismatics.com
www.novanumismatics.com
