By Geni - Photo
by user:geni, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=52536173
The American
Rose 1723 - Useful and Pleasant
The Rosa Americana pieces,
struck by William Wood of Wolverhampton under royal
patent dated July 12, 1722, received a disappointingly small circulation
in New York and New England. The
colonists did not like them and refused to use them. Another coinage by Wood in 1722–24, intended for Ireland but rejected
there because of scandalous circumstances surrounding his purchase of the royal
patent, was shipped to the North American Colonies. Tokens
were made in a special type of brass called Bath Metal (a type of
brass) with trace amount of silver, the actual silver content varies from
difference sources.
In the 1700s, William Wood, a copper and tin mine owner in
England had an abundance of metal and was looking for a way to profit. Wood had
heard the American colonies were experiencing a coin shortage. So being an
enterprising businessman, Wood used his connection to the king’s mistress—the
Duchess of Kendal—to strike a deal with King George I to supply coins to the
American colonies.
Under terms of
the contract, Wood could produce coins for fourteen years with not more than
300 tons of metal. Wood had to pay the King 100 pounds each year and the king’s
comptroller 200 pounds each year.
The rose was
intended to flatter King George I as a successor to the Plantagenets and
Tudors—despite his German origin.
Wood struck
Halfpenny, Penny and Two Pence coins. The first Two Pence designs were undated,
and the remainder of the coins he struck were dated 1722, 1723 or 1724.
Due to the
metal compound, these coins were lightweight and subsequently some American
merchants refused to accept the coins in trade. Because the coins were not
widely accepted, Wood stopped minting coins in 1723.
In 1725 Wood
gave up his patent contract and instead accepted a pension for three years.
Nonetheless, his coins remained in circulation in the American colonies until
the Civil War. Examples have been unearthed in parts of New England, New York,
New Jersey, and Pennsylvania.
Sources
https://www.blanchardgold.com/market-news/the-surprising-history-behind-rosa-americana-coins/
wiki
https://www.britannica.com/biography/William-Wood-English-ironmaster-circa-1723
No comments:
Post a Comment