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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;MIGuy, post: 22701756, member: 116145&quot;]According to Red Book, Mark Newby came to America from Dublin, Ireland in 1681.&nbsp; He brought copper pieces believed to have been struck in Dublin 1663-1672, these are called St. Patrick Coppers.&nbsp; The coinage was made legal tender by the General Assembly of New Jersey in May, 1682.&nbsp; Here is more detailed information from the excellent Notre Dame University website:&nbsp; &quot;Originally minted for use in Ireland, St. Patrick coppers had a long and varied history. An English Quaker merchant in Dublin named Mark Newby (or Newbie) acquired a large supply of these coins which he took with him in 1681 when he emigrated to West New Jersey (New Jersey was divided into separate Eastern and Western colonies from 1676-1702). On May 18, 1682 the General Free Assembly of West New Jersey granted Newby&#039;s coppers legal tender status and allowed them to circulate as small change at the rate of a halfpenny, replacing wampum. The only restrictions were that Newby had to put up surety (300 acres of land) that he would exchange the coppers for &quot;pay equivalent&quot; on demand and that one was not required to accept more than five shillings in coppers at one time. When Newby died about a year later, in the fall of 1682, his estate included £30 in coppers, estimated at roughly 10,800 coins. Newby&#039;s St. Patrick coppers filled an important need in local commerce and remained in circulation throughout the colonial period. In fact, in 1881 the eminent New Jersey copper specialist Edward Marris stated that St. Patrick coppers continued to be found in change in western New Jersey into the early 19th century.</p><p><br /></p><p>Several theories have been put forth on the origins of the Saint Patrick coppers. The most plausible is that the tokens were minted in Dublin around the period 1674-1675. A single smaller size or &quot;farthing&quot; coin was found in a hoard of 273 coins recovered from the yacht <i>Mary</i>&nbsp; which sank on March 24, 1675, on its way from Dublin to Chester. From this it is certain the production of these coins date to at least 1675. Although there is no evidence as to how much earlier the coins were minted, it is suspected they were part of a coinage sanctioned by Arthur, Earl of Essex, who was the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland from 1672 to 1677. The connection to the Lord Lieutenant is suspected because these coins were carefully made with high quality standards. Each blank planchet had a drop of molten brass added to the obverse before striking. This served a dual purpose in that it made counterfeiting more difficult and gave a golden appearance to the royal English crown on the top of the coin. Also, during minting each coin was given a reeded edge to prevent clipping. Additionally, special presentation copies were made, for a few examples of the smaller size coins survive that were struck in silver or gold. Also, the coins had a royalist legend on the obverse (FLOREAT REX - May the king flourish). All of these facts suggest the coins were designed to have an official status and were not merely a private merchant issue.&quot;</p><p><br /></p><p>I was fortunate enough to win one tonight for about Red Book value ($400 in Good) for my expanding low grade Colonial Copper set - I&#039;m excited it&#039;s a straight graded G6 in a PCGS slab, I&#039;m typically happy to settle for &quot;Details&quot; coppers given the age and rarity of these coins (and my limited budget).&nbsp; Who else loves Colonial Copper?&nbsp; Here she is!&nbsp; (seller&#039;s pics)</p><p><br /></p><p>&nbsp;[ATTACH=full]1545137[/ATTACH] [ATTACH=full]1545138[/ATTACH] [ATTACH=full]1545139[/ATTACH] [ATTACH=full]1545140[/ATTACH][/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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