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1019

Undated Counterfeit British Halfpenny, Struck with Double Obverses. 138.6 grains.

Currency:USD Category:Coins & Paper Money Start Price:25.00 USD Estimated At:NA
Undated Counterfeit British Halfpenny, Struck with Double Obverses. 138.6 grains.
SOLD
440.00USD+ buyer's premium (88.00)
This item SOLD at 2024 Jan 20 @ 19:06UTC-6 : CST/MDT
Undated Counterfeit British Halfpenny, Struck with Double Obverses. 138.6 grains.Choice Extremely Fine, a boldly struck example of a seldom-seen error, a coin struck from two obverse dies. While most “double headers” are actually made from two different coins that were ground down and joined together, real examples of this error can also be created in the striking process. The first way is through a brockage adhering to one die and acting like a die itself, that type of error has both sides from the same die, albeit the one struck from the brockage a bit flatter and weaker. The second method, found on the coin offered here, is both more rare and interesting, struck from two very different obverse dies that were (likely) inadvertently put into a press, instead of an obverse and a reverse die. Double reverse strikes are also known, one is offered earlier in this sale. Neither obverse die found on this coin is currently part of a published family, but both are known, one side with a heavy die break through the final ordinal and other smaller breaks, the other with a rounded “goiter” below the lips, halfway down an improbably large chin, and a die break closing the bottom of the R of GEORGIVS (this obverse is also known on a brockage strike in a private collection). While this is an error that didn’t happen often there are, amazingly, over a dozen different varieties of struck double obverse die pieces known, and slightly fewer different varieties of double reverses coins. Most of these double obverse or double reverse varieties have just one or two examples extant, and it was likely that the mistakes were caught early and corrected. Some did enter circulation, and a couple are quite well-worn, showing that people didn’t look at their pocket change too closely at the time – perhaps because they knew that ¾ or more of their coppers were going to be counterfeit anyway! But many of this type of error do exist in high grade, suggesting that they were saved as an oddity from nearly the beginning. The planchet on this one is particularly robust, approaching the weight of a regal coin. Deep tan, the surfaces glossy, though the centers of each side show roughness, and a few light marks, including a scratch on the cheek of one side, and light spotting. A very special coin from the Rothschild collection.
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