1135

1773 Counterfeit George III British Farthing, Simian Family, Laughing Head variety. 40.2 grains.

Currency:USD Category:Coins & Paper Money Start Price:25.00 USD Estimated At:NA
1773 Counterfeit George III British Farthing, Simian Family, Laughing Head variety. 40.2 grains.
SOLD
27.50USD+ buyer's premium (5.50)
This item SOLD at 2024 Jan 20 @ 20:25UTC-6 : CST/MDT
1773 Counterfeit George III British Farthing, Simian Family, Laughing Head variety. 40.2 grains.Very Fine/Fine, the reverse weaker than the obverse. The most common of the Simian farthings, with a distinct obverse bust that appears to be laughing – perhaps at the fools who took this in change (though at nearly double the weight of the previous two Simian farthings, it is at least a bit more deceptive). The obverse legend is full and the king’s bust is strong. The reverse legend is full, but BRITAN is much weakened by heavy roughness, as are the first two digits of the date. From an early state of the dies, with a small cud at the GE of GEORGIVS, and before the kidney-bean shaped diebreak appeared on the reverse. This cataloguer wrote an article examining this variety for The Fall 2022 (Volume 30 Number 3) C4 Newsletter, which also looked at the amazing array of error strikes known for just this single die pair. Always popular.