Rosa Americana Trial Piece

planonit

So no need to keep this little journey a secret. I purchased a coin from a collection of an older collector who had passed away and focused on colonial coins.

There were a few different trials of 1733 2 pence Rosa Americana coins. The most common ones (like 6 known) are made of copper. The coin I have in question is made of lead. THUS far the evidence points to the coin being unique. A single example was found by a police offer in a mixture of foreign coins and sold at auction in 1975 (Breen) and that same coin was sold a few later in 1982 in the Roper Collection.

It appears my coin is not that coin.

Now i cannot be 100% sure this coin is real but I can say the owner certainly thought it was real. He had hand written details on the coin comparing it to the copper version of those coin and had it measured and weighed in grains.

I have reached out to a few guys to get their opinion and I have sent pictures and details to the foremost expert Sydney Martin and he is traveling and said the coin was "neat" and he would answer all my questions when he has some time.

TomB

I admit I am ignorant about this specific niche, but it appears to be a copy to me.

Boosibri

Might try and contact John Kraljevich

ricko

Very interesting... I cannot contribute knowledgeably to your quest, but would be very interested to hear what your research eventually reveals. Please let us know... Cheers, RickO

pruebas

Any time you see a lead trial, your "suspicion meter" should be pegged.

This example is no different.

planonit

So far Sydney Martin has said it may be cast lead and not stuck lead which is of course a major concern but he advised me to send it an expert. No offense to PCGS or NGC but this is a very specialized coin and I agree that it would be best to send the coin directly to an expert but who is he or she?
Almost everybody I spoke to referred me to Sydney so not sure who to contact next.

I'm just out of my element on this.

Aegis3

I'm not a fan of the rims.

Also look here.

messydesk

The rims are as if it were struck on an upset planchet in a collar, and that wasn't happening in 1733, so it would seem to be a seam from the casting.

savoyspecial

Chances are very good that it is an Alfred S. Robinson copy

Aegis3

It's not a Robinson copy. IIRC, they have larger letters.

DCW

@messydesk said:
The rims are as if it were struck on an upset planchet in a collar, and that wasn't happening in 1733, so it would seem to be a seam from the casting.

I agree with your assessment.

johnny9434

i dont like it