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1061

1769 Counterfeit George III British Halfpenny, Rubber Lady Family, Dies 3a-69Ab. 80.2 grains.

Currency:USD Category:Coins & Paper Money Start Price:25.00 USD Estimated At:NA
1769 Counterfeit George III British Halfpenny, Rubber Lady Family, Dies 3a-69Ab. 80.2 grains.
1769 Counterfeit George III British Halfpenny, Rubber Lady Family, Dies 3a-69Ab. 80.2 grains.Very Fine, a boldly struck example from a very rare family, named for the apparent lack of bones in the seated Britannia figure’s legs and arms, which often bend at improbable angles, without knee or elbow joints. An exceptionally crude family which uses three non-regal dates (1761, 1769, and 1776 British) and two regal dates (1771 British and 1769 Irish), and while conclusively die-linked, the obverse and reverse dies all appear to be quite distinct from each other. The family was covered in detail in the first volume of the book, with two additional sub-varieties added by Kayla Schlemmer in an article for The Journal of Early American Numismatics, which will also be included in the second volume of the counterfeit book. The obverse has an open-mouthed bust with wild, frizzy hair and unusual crescent-shaped rings representing the hair below the wreath, the same crescent design used on the armor mailing, and there is, unusually, a colon after the word GEORGIVS. The reverse has the torso of the seated Britannia made up of deeply engraved, curving lines, some of them extending out past her actual body. The legends and date are full, the design detail all sharp. This variety is known with both the obverse and reverse dies reworked enough to designate distinct sub-varieties (if you have the book, note the difference in the obverse bust’s nose on the 3a and 3b obverse dies and the differences in the detail at the seated figure’s lap on reverses 69Aa and 69Ab). Medium brown and mottled lighter color, the surfaces hard though the reverse has some green verdigris around the date and shield. Though the most available of the Rubber Lady varieties, the total number known for the variety can likely be counted on two hands. One of the more crude and most desirable of all counterfeit families, examples seldom appear on the market – of note, both the first Mike Ringo and Syd Martin sales lacked this variety in any condition. Purchased by Neil from noted collector/dealer Richard August, and noted as earlier being in the collection of Bob Vlack. Neil’s extensive annotations on the envelope contain an error, where he notes that Eric Newman had this obverse paired with a 1776-dated reverse, whereas Newman actually had a different obverse from this family paired with that 1776 reverse. One of the highlights of Neil’s collection of counterfeits, and a coin that will surely be fought over by bidders!
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