Happy 4th July!
The Virginia Halfpenny of
1773 - The coin that beat the American Revolution.
On May
20, 1773 the Virginia Assembly authorized the coining of a halfpenny at the
Tower mint in London. The coin, engraved by Richard Yeo, was made of copper at
a weight of sixty halfpence to the pound. Five tons of halfpence (about 670,000
pieces) arrived in New York aboard the ship "Virginia" on February
14, 1774 but were not distributed until written royal permission was obtained
about a year later. The coins only became available to colonists fifty days
before the American War of Independence started.
The Virginians
hoarded the new halfpenny, along with all other copper coins, until the end of
the war. Although the halfpenny contained the portrait of King George the coins
were used in Revolutionary and post war Virginia. The pound was the currency of Virginia until
1793.
Rosa Americana Tokens
1722-1724 Coins that were not agreeable or much use.
William
Wood, owner of several copper and tin mines, hoped to make a profit producing
coins for use in Ireland and America. Through the king's mistress, the Duchess
of Kendal, he was able to obtain a royal indenture to produce coins for Ireland
on June 16, 1722 and a second indenture on July 22, 1722, authorising him to
produce one hundred tons of coins for the American colonies over a period of
fourteen years for an annual fee of £300 to the king. The coins were made of an
alloy called 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. The Bath metal planchets had to be hot when they were impressed
between the dies to keep the dies from cracking. The heating of the planchets
caused gas bubbles to form in the metal producing a porous surface on the
coins, often with some discoloration.
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, Massachusetts preferred penny, two
pence and three pence paper notes, rather than accept the Rosa Americana coins.
Some colonies did accept them.
Because
his coins were not accepted and no profits were made, Wood stopped minting
coins in 1723. The Rosa Americana coins depict King George I on the obverse
with the Tudor rose on the reverse. The obverse legend was one of several forms
of the King's name and title while the reverse legend had various forms of ROSA
AMERICANA and UTILE DULCI (the useful with the agreeable).
