Hey everyone, I was at an estate sale this weekend and picked up this big copper for $1. Can anyone here tell me much about it? George III Farthing or Penny Deep groove on edge That's about all that I know And these pictures:
If its big it ain`t a Farthing. It looks like a Fourth Issue Penny 1806 or 07, but in that condition it is scrap copper value.
I don't have a ruler or a scale with me. It's about the same size as a US Large Cent, or slightly larger, it has a rim that makes it look like two of these were welded together. If these descriptions lack, I apologize and will measure it when I get home.
The edge ridge is a security measure when minted. If its larger than a US Large Cent it is either a HalfPenny or Penny, but as I said in that condition it is nothing special. Very common coin over here.
There was also a Victoria Half Penny in the lot in much better condition... any better value on that?
That's George III on there. At a NJ historic site I visited about a year ago they had some coins they had dug up on the property with a metal detector. Most of the coins were dated from the mid to late 1700's but there were a few half pennies dated in the early 1800's with the notation that even after independence these coppers wound up in America and circulated at the value of one US cent well into the 19th Century.
Interesting, I just received my 2017 Spink books in the post today. How timely. Perusing the George III section, the coin really looks like Spink numbers 3780 (Penny), 3781 (Half Penny) or 3782 (Farthing). Minted from 1806 - 1807, the entry says "Soho Mint, Birmingham" and "Shorter haired laur. and dr. bust, r. date below, R. Britannia I" for all 3 types. A few varieties exist, which won't show on the specimen above since they involve the number of berries in Britannia's wreath on the reverse or George's curl on the obverse. Spink lists prices for the Farthing ranging from £10 in VF to £150 in EF and for the Half Penny from £8 to £85 and £12 to £110 for the Penny. The only diameter I've found so far is for the farthing at 21 mm with a weight of 4.7g. Here's a photo of Spink 3781 (the Half Penny) from the web: