This is a 1722 Rosa Americana Halfpenny. William Wood, an Englishman, secured the right to produce these coins from King George I for use in the Ireland and the American colonies. The first pieces were undated but others are with 1722, 1723, 1724 and 1733. They were issued in only three denominations, a half penny, penny and the twopence. The obverse has the head of George I and a partial legend, “GEORGIUS•DEI•GR” and the rest is missing. The reverse is a centered rose in full bloom with “ROSA•AMERICANA•UTILE•DULCI” surrounding the rose. The means the (American Rose is useful and sweet). The Rosa Americana coins were rejected by the American colonists. They are also considered to be Colonial Issues. The obverse of George I was the main reason for the rejection. This is not a clipped planchet but rather a broken one. These types coins are made of a brass composition containing copper and zinc. Which is confused with what is called Bath Metal. The Planchets are rough and porous. You can see the jagged edge of this piece. This is the only one I have which I just acquired at a very low price. The previous owner didn’t like the coin due to the break but I think that adds character and history to the coin and I’m proud to have it as part of my collection. Hope you enjoy it.
The original patent called for the coins to be made of Bath metal which would contain a small amount of silver. Metallurgical test have shown no presence of silver though so Wood must have skimped to save money. The brass composition was very high in zinc, over 40% in most cases, this is why so many of the coins didn't hold up so well. The Hibernia coins also made by Wood were of a more standard composition and held up much better.
@Publius2, This is the best I could get. Hope it helps. I thinks it’s easy to see just how rough and porous these were.
Thanks for the fracture surface photo. You can't always tell if the structure is porous from a fracture surface, but I agree that this one look porous or at least with a very open grain structure. No evidence of a more malleable metal bending failure. Here's my Rosa. You can tell the alloy from its color.
Why would that have caused rejection? At the time the colonists still were loyal to england and many if not most still considered themselves Englishmen. The only objection I could see would have been because George I wasn't English. He was a German who came to the throne after Queen Anne died without children..
The most likely reason for the coins not being accepted is their size. They were less than half the weight of their British counterpart. A rosa halfpenny was close in size and weight to a farthing, and the penny was close to a halfpenny.
William Wood owned a copper and tin mine. He was from Staffordshire England and he mistakenly thought that a royal patent to produce coins for Ireland and the American colonies would make him rich. Despite Wood’s efforts to have King George I grant his requests, His Majesty's mistress, the Duchess of Munster and Kendal, held Wood’s hostage. Wood was forced to pay £10,000 to the Duchess as ransom for the release of his patent to strike Irish halfpennies and farthings. Since George I never consulted the Irish Parliament, the issue was taken as an insult and the coins were soundly rejected. They were withdrawn from circulation in Ireland and profiteers bought and shipped them to America. Due to political differences which led to the Revolutionary War, they were rejected by the colonies. They still circulated due to coin shortages but some businesses would not accept them.
The Wood's coinages are really interesting, it is funny, his American coinage was rejected in America, his Irish coinage was rejected in Ireland but actually circulated pretty well in America. Unlike the Rosa Americana coinage though, the Hibernias were on par with the English standard as far as size and weight. Metal detectorists turn up Hibernias with pretty good frequency in the US.