1861 GB Half-Penny - Obverse 6, Reverse F, Unrecorded in Freeman, Acknowledged by Dracott, Confirmed

RareBronzeCollector · June 6, 2007 8:15AM

Here is a specimen of an 1861 Half-Penny, Obverse 6, Reverse F... Unrecorded in Freeman, ackowledged by Iain Dracott as having only known of one specimen.... Here is confirmation.....

Double incuse lines and more of the O of HONI SO visible...... As per the description of Obverse 6.......

The coin is a PCGS MS-64BN (with a hint of red)... Digital images reflected off the slab. so I had to scan it for the best detail, although it dulls the color a bit...

WWW · June 6, 2007 9:02AM

Wow! Very nice.

RareBronzeCollector · June 6, 2007 9:07AM

Thanks

TwoKopeiki · June 6, 2007 9:17AM

RBC - that's a fantastic specimen.

RareBronzeCollector · June 6, 2007 9:51AM

Thanks, Especially to confirm an unlisted variety........

Hussulo · June 7, 2007 12:32AM

Very impresive. Great find.

drjules · June 7, 2007 12:53AM

Very nice, but I hope those hairs are on the outside of the slab

Dr J

MacCrimmon · June 7, 2007 1:40AM

RBC, it would pay to have mgoodm3 shoot some monster-crisp hires images of your find. It's frightening how detailed they can be.....and accurate in colour, etc.

Oh yeah, a big kudos!!!

RareBronzeCollector · June 7, 2007 2:17AM

<< Very nice, but I hope those hairs are on the outside of the slab

Dr J >>

They are hairs on the scanner... I can never get it crisply clean

IstilllikeZARcoins · June 7, 2007 2:21AM

Wowee - great find.

theboz11 · June 7, 2007 5:48PM

WOW!!

RareBronzeCollector · June 14, 2007 7:08AM

clarkbar04 · June 14, 2007 7:19AM

I like it alot!

1jester · September 29, 2007 10:38PM

Thanks for sharing your discovery with us, sir! The half penny looks nice. Do you think it's the only one in existance?

I'd like to ask your expert opinion on a coin I've had for a few years. I'm an extreme novice with respect to British coins in general, and these bun head Vickies in particular. I only have a Spink to work with, and though they give pictures of all obverses and reverses, I still can't make out what they're referring to either by their pictures or descriptions. Besides, they only have pictures of the penny versions of each design, and I'm finding it hard to make head or tails of my own coin using their pictures. They don't have pictures of half pennies for a direct comparison, unfortunately.

First, how do you count the leaves? Are there leaves below the hair that's pulled back into the bun, or do you only count what's above the hair? What are the double incuse lines you refer to? Spink makes no mention of the O in Honi So being more visible in Obverse 6, but I think I can see what you're talking about. Also I have no way of discerning incuse from raised lines in the leaves.

I suppose my coin has obverse 5, though I can't be sure, neither do I have any idea which reverse it is. Do you think you could help me out in deciphering which version this is? Thanks a lot.

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my thread about this coin from 1993.

RareBronzeCollector · September 29, 2007 11:52PM

Hi 1Jester,

I doubt that it is the only specimen extant.... Iain Dracott, in his magazine series, mentions that he knew of 1 specimen, although I do not know what condition it is in.... I'm reasonably certain that this example would rank as the finest amongst very few remaining specimens....

Regarding YOUR coin.... The best I can tell from the images (which are nice and large, which helps in attributions), is that it is an F-273, Obverse 4, Reverse G, which was rated as an R-13.....

The Doubling which exists is not uncommon for the period, and I have many examples of Pennies & Half-Pennies that exhibit this feature.... Some doubling on some coins might be recutting, but not in all instances........

theboz11 · September 30, 2007 12:02AM

<< 

<< Very nice, but I hope those hairs are on the outside of the slab

Dr J >>

They are hairs on the scanner... I can never get it crisply clean >>

You can get better scans by placing a pencil at the top edge of the slab to make an angle

RareBronzeCollector · September 30, 2007 12:07AM

<< 

<< 

<< Very nice, but I hope those hairs are on the outside of the slab

Dr J >>

They are hairs on the scanner... I can never get it crisply clean >>

You can get better scans by placing a pencil at the top edge of the slab to make an angle

>>

I'll try that later and see how it works....

Thanks for the tip....

RareBronzeCollector · September 30, 2007 12:16AM

Michael Freeman's book is still the standard for the Bronze coinage....

Iain Dracott wrote a magazine series on Victorian Bun Head Half-Pennies that appeared in April, May, and July of2004 (Coin News Magazine, from Token Publishing)...

Malcolm Lewendon has published a reference CD for Bun Head Half-Pennies, with images that incorporate Freeman, Dracott and a few other new discoveries.....

1jester · September 30, 2007 6:36AM

Thanks so much for the attribution of my coin, RareBronzeCollector! What does R-13 mean in practice; how many examples are estimated extant? I'd wanted to sell this coin a couple years ago but lacking any concrete information on it I didn't feel it would be best to let it go as an average half penny. Is it worth anything?

coinkat · September 30, 2007 7:20AM

I would consign it to Dix Noonan Webb and let them handle it... seriously...

RareBronzeCollector · September 30, 2007 3:48PM

<< Thanks so much for the attribution of my coin, RareBronzeCollector! What does R-13 mean in practice; how many examples are estimated extant? I'd wanted to sell this coin a couple years ago but lacking any concrete information on it I didn't feel it would be best to let it go as an average half penny. Is it worth anything?

>>

1jester · October 3, 2007 4:39PM

Thanks for the info, RareBronze! And I appreciate the PDF files so I can be a better student of this series.

mojoman · October 3, 2007 6:23PM

a little Photo editing help

GREAT LOOKING COIN

lordmarcovan · October 3, 2007 6:43PM

I see PCGS is putting "1/2D" instead of "1/2P" on the labels, now. Better, but if they're gonna use the abbreviated form of denarium I think they should use the lowercase "d".

I have no idea who Freeman or Dracott are, or anything about the varieties of such, but I do recognize one thing: that is a lovely Vickie.

lordmarcovan · October 3, 2007 6:44PM

<< HONI SO >>

Wow, I never even knew the motto was on Vickie's shoulder like that. Cool.

Guess I never had one that was high enough grade to see that. I have had UNCs, sure, but most if not all were Old Head coins.

RareBronzeCollector · October 4, 2007 3:39AM

<< Thanks for the info, RareBronze! And I appreciate the PDF files so I can be a better student of this series.

>>

Glad to help..... Are you just interested in the Bronze Half Pennies???? Or all the Bronze (Pennies, Half-Pennies, Farthings, etc...)

An excellent site for farthing information is: http://www.aboutfarthings.co.uk/

Let me know if I can assist further..... (You have my email address)

1861 GB Half-Penny - Obverse 6, Reverse F, Unrecorded in Freeman, Acknowledged by Dracott, Confirmed

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