Have you ever bought a coin on a whim that doesn’t fit with the rest of your collection? I am certainly guilty of doing this. A great example is the bronzed proof 1822 Irish Halfpenny I use as my avatar. This quickly became one of my favorite pieces, but I always assumed it would be a one-off. I never expected to complete the two-year series mostly because I thought the 1822 would be too difficult to properly match. As luck would have it, I recently acquired its equally attractive counterpart, a proof 1823 Irish Halfpenny with the same beautiful blue toning. Which of the two do you like the best?
I like 1823 better as well. Toning and strike are a little more bold and the coin looks cleaner. Both are very lovely though.
The consensus seems to be that the 1823 is the nicer of the two. I’m not sure I can pick a favorite just yet.
