1157

Undated British Evasion Halfpenny. Cobwright T.0040/H.0020, Atkins 444.

Currency:USD Category:Coins & Paper Money Start Price:25.00 USD Estimated At:NA
Undated British Evasion Halfpenny. Cobwright T.0040/H.0020, Atkins 444.
Undated British Evasion Halfpenny. Cobwright T.0040/H.0020, Atkins 444.Obverse legend TVRCVPELLERIVS, reverse legend HISPANIOLA. 112.8 grains. Very Fine, one of the perennially popular evasion varieties, both sides quite distinct and attractive. The obverse has a wild-haired, stern-faced bust with the initials I.K below, while the reverse has a seated figure far to the right, facing a rising sun, and holding an orb of some sort in her outstretched hand; she wears a small feather headdress and has her ear pierced with a large hoop. Unlike anything else in the evasion series, some 19th century authors actually listed this issue as coming from or coined for the island of Hispaniola in the West Indies (containing Haiti and the Dominican Republic). While the obverse legend seems like nonsense today, it was actually used on the first medal struck that depicted an Englishman other than a king, a 1400-1480 medal depicting John Kendal, general of the knights of Rhodes (Eimer 19). The word translates to Turcopolier, an officer in charge of the archers and light cavalry used by the Byzantine Empire during the Crusades. Definitely an oddball, but one of the most beautiful reverse designs in the entire evasion series, and always popular.