Any idea on what the date might be? It looks like 1777 to me. It's hard to imagine how many pockets this coin had been in. If only it could talk.
I'm not willing to hazard a guess based on that photo, but if it is 1777, then your coin is not an official issue- Great Britain stopped issuing copper in 1775 and didn't start again until 1797. That's why so many unofficial tokens (called "Conders" today) and circulating counterfeits were made during this period.
If that is true, then this is probably a circulating token or contemporary counterfeit. I got it for 25 cents in the LCS junk bin. Pretty nice, considering how much circulation it saw.
Mine has a different bust. The bust suggests it was made in 1806 or 1807, but there is a ghost of a 77 under Britannia.
I'm not sure about that. Different bust yes but the date under Britannia is the mint date. I think if you look close to the date on yours it's 177? I don't collect these so I'm not 100% on this, but I think I'm right (maybe)
Mine is milled by the way. Looking at yours it's pretty worn but I'm thinking 1775/76/77. During the time of these there was a lot of counterfeit coins. Milled or what have you. Used mainly by the poor. Like I said I don't collect them. When I got this one I was entertaining the idea but went a different direction. So don't really know the history.
As suggested above, the opening post coin is a 1806 or 1807 issue. Apart from the bust, also the position of the arm of Britannia is a clear indication. In the younger portrait types it is up. In the later versions it is down. In the later version the date is below the bust, not below Britannia. Here the two types together to illustrate the differences.
The bust fits best with the 1806/1807 issues. It is fairly close to the 1799 issue, but that does not have a straight line under Britannia to define the exergue, so we can discount that. Whereas the 1770s issues were much faked, far fewer were done of copper coins in the early 19th century. For the 1806/7 issue the date is under the bust, not under Britannia so anything you think you can read there is irrelevant anyway.
UPDATE! After a few days of pocket piecing I am starting to see remnants of lettering on the obverse. Not completely sure about the date yet, but I'm guessing 1807 at this point. The GEORGIUS III is now partially visible on the obverse. I'm going to carry it a few more days to see if a date can be uncovered. If not, I'll just keep carrying it as the coin is bringing me good luck.
UPDATE! I have finally solved this one. If you tilt the obverse at just the right angle, you can see a 7 under the bust. The only possible date it can be now is 1807. See how great pocket piecing is?
I am glad you have it nailed down now. Not heard of pocket piecing before as a way of cleaning coins! For something as damaged and valueless as this example it can do no more harm, but I wouldn't like to try it on anything in better condition. Old coppers like yours are pretty common over here in the UK - I get them almost every week in job lots of coins from clearance auctions. I put them in a box at 50p each to tempt the younger generations into coin-collecting.
