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1081

1774 Counterfeit George III British Halfpenny, Old Guy George Family, Dies 1-74A. 143.2 grains.

Currency:USD Category:Coins & Paper Money Start Price:25.00 USD Estimated At:NA
1774 Counterfeit George III British Halfpenny, Old Guy George Family, Dies 1-74A. 143.2 grains.
1774 Counterfeit George III British Halfpenny, Old Guy George Family, Dies 1-74A. 143.2 grains.Fine, some details a bit sharper, but moderately rough across either side. The legends are full, though occasional letters are weaker but readable. The date is sharp and all on the planchet, the final digit looking more like a crooked letter A. Earlier we offered a 1773-dated example from this family, and this is the same obverse die, with a different reverse – and is from an earlier obverse die state than that 1773-dated example. While the reverse is not quite as crude as the 1773, it is still off enough to be instantly recognizable as counterfeit. Aside from the wonky date, the branch looks like a child’s drawing of a tree and is appears to be barely held in Britannia’s fingertips. The authors of this chapter noted that the 7’s in the date were different – this because they were engraved by hand and not done with number punches, and called the final digit a “Drunken A,” though when the full digit is on the planchet it is clearly a sloppy 4, leaning far to the left. Originally quite rare, enough examples (usually lower grade) have appeared to make each of the varieties scarce, save for the one using the second obverse die which remains extremely rare today.
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