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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;MIGuy, post: 8249705, member: 116145&quot;]This is an odd one, I picked it up reasonably from a reputable source and I believe it is genuine but the flaking or damage on the obverse is weird - I think it&#039;s a factor of the composition of same.&nbsp; Here&#039;s some history from the interwebs: </p><p>William Wood, owner of several copper and tin mines, hoped to make a profit producing coins for use in Ireland and America. Through the king&#039;s mistress, the Duchess of Kendal, he was able to obtain a royal indenture to produce coins for Ireland on June 16, 1722. Soon thereafter the Duchess assisted Wood in obtaining a second indenture on July 22, 1722, authorizing him to produce one hundred tons of coins for the American colonies over a period of fourteen years for an annual fee of £300 to the king (£100 in rent directly to the king and £200 to the clerk comptroller) . The coins were made of an alloy called Bath metal composed of 75% brass, 20% zinc (mixed with tin and bismuth) and 5% silver and were to weigh slightly less than half the weight of English coins. The Bath metal planchets had to be hot when they were impressed between the dies to keep the dies from cracking. The heating of the planchets caused gas bubbles to form in the metal, as the planchets were struck while they were hot, these small bubbles did not have a chance to escape and therefore they produced a porous surface on the coins, often with some discoloration.</p><p><br /></p><p>Wood produced twopence, penny and halfpenny coins dated 1722-1723.</p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]1453071[/ATTACH] [ATTACH=full]1453072[/ATTACH][/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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