So I've been working alot, but when I have time I've been working on my colonial collection. I'm getting sucked into contemporary counterfeits like the one I'm about to show you. The more serious you get about these..the more you realize how deep these pcs get. It's just a matter of how much time you wanna spend on each pc...and money. I've been fortunate enough to begin a friendship with a pretty serious collector who has sorta taken me under his wing. Its been very helpful. Over the past month I have added a few pretty nice pcs that I would like to show. As usual...extremely open to comments. On this pc note 2 prominent cut points. Bottom left curls & nose. All letters are hand cut. Note mispelled HIBERNIA. Furthermore the reverse central device has been linked to some 1769 Irish Simians. 1772 George III Irish HIBERNEA Half Penny Contemporary Counterfeit Simian Mule (Rare Date)
Cut me some slack man I'm operating at peak maximum ability here on these turkeys!!! I don't know why i do this to myself. I have books stacked up..notebpads...endless emails...ect... the top of my head is smoking!!! But I love it. I'm having a blast.
I'm thinking the date is actually 1772 - the third digit appears to be a 7 and not a 2, though in all frankness I actually wish it was a numeral 2 - especially with the George III Rex on the obverse.
It is 1772 not sure why I typed that. Completely stupid. I was trying to hurry with no organization when I posted. Thinking about too many coins at the same time. If I'm lucky the mods will edit that for me. Not sure how to get that done.
If not too late, use the “thread tools” tab at the upper right of the OP. It should allow you to edit the title, being the originator…Spark
Nope just unwatch thread. I just shoulda waited until I got some sleep. I've been working and burning on coins really hard. This is a great coin this sucks.
Yes, and apparently this variety refers to the semblance of the portrait to a monkey or ape, hence the name. But like you, I had never heard of these so called "Simian" varieties until recently. Likely our author here was the author of the thread where I first saw that.
What you need to do in the future is use the "report" link at the bottom of the post you want to edit, and request an edit extension. We can then open that back up for you. I fixed this one for ya, though.
I had not either.... and I questioned the seller on this. Simian is a broad term. It does indeed indicate a monkey like arm just as you and i understand it....however it is used to describe anything hand cut as well.
Yes, these contemporary counterfeit coins are a fascinating field of study and collecting. They were called "evasions" and were minted to resemble the official coinage but with subtle difference in the legends or variations in the bust. A loophole in the counterfeiting laws meant coins (mainly halfpennies) could be minted with a subtle change and deemed to be "tokens", thus evading the law. Dues to severe shortages of small change coins, such as halfpennies and farthings, they were readily accepted for use as money. Evasions were struck in copper but were lighter than the official issues. Strangely enough, most types were Irish, showing the Hibernia figure. https://oldcurrencyexchange.com/201...irish-evasion-halfpennies-1770s-to-the-1790s/