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1105

1781 Counterfeit George III British Halfpenny, Newman 44-81E. 122.2 grains.

Currency:USD Category:Coins & Paper Money Start Price:25.00 USD Estimated At:NA
1781 Counterfeit George III British Halfpenny, Newman 44-81E. 122.2 grains.
SOLD
1,450.00USD+ (290.00) buyer's premium + applicable fees & taxes.
This item SOLD at 2024 Jan 20 @ 20:05UTC-6 : CST/MDT
1781 Counterfeit George III British Halfpenny, Newman 44-81E. 122.2 grains.Uncirculated, a simply gorgeous example, this is the Mike Ringo specimen which received an entire page as Lot 418 of the 1998 sale of his collection, with massive photographs, though somewhat tersely described there as: “MS63…Essentially a perfect example of this variety, unless you consider the lack of mint red an imperfection. Problem free hard glossy surfaces toned chocolate brown (there is a minute nick on the obverse face). Another coin it is hard to imagine improving, almost certainly the finest known.” To Tom Rinaldo’s description we add there is also a small nick in the field between the N of BRITAN and the seated figure’s neck, which makes it extremely easy to plate match the coin, though it does not detract at all. It is doubtful whether any 1781 or 1785 exists with mint red – these coins would have been darkened after striking to tone that color down, something that would have been very suspicious in commerce a decade after the last British halfpence had been coined. Not noted in the catalogue description is the envelope that accompanies this piece, which notes it was ex-Garrett collection, via Richard August. Most collectors today are unaware that the famed Garrett family collection did include a number of counterfeit British halfpence, as well as evasion coppers. These were in part IV of the auction by Bowers and Ruddy, in March 1981 and appeared as lots 2235-2251 (with the handful of lots before containing an Uncirculated Muttonhead Connecticut copper, two Uncirculated Machin’s Mills, and two other Machin’s that were called nearly Uncirculated there but are likely fully that grade today)! Unfortunately all but a couple of the counterfeits were unplated, and were in group lots that were not described; if this was in one of those lots, then sharp-eyed specialist August certainly scored. Sandwiched between California Fractional gold and a small group of currency, these were overlooked by collectors then and now, even though there was a Brasher doubloon and the 1792-patterns to close out that auction session. Regardless of where this came from, it is an awe-inspiring example of the variety, with nothing even remotely close having appeared at auction. It is finer than the plate coin for the variety in the book, and much finer than either the Newman plate coin or the Syd Martin coin. More sharply struck than Ringo’s 40-81A which was offered earlier in this sale, this may well be the finest 1781 of ANY variety still in existence. Like that coin, this also brought $2,200 in 1998, record prices for any non-Machin’s Mills counterfeit British copper to that time. The chance to obtain an Uncirculated 1781 at auction has not occurred since the Ringo sale, and it may well be a quarter century or more before that opportunity comes again.
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