Can't find this King for this date. Ireland 1769 1/2 Penny O. GRORGIVS . II . REX . Head left R. HIBERIA. 1769 Crowned Harp 7.6 g. 26+ mm
Or the other likely answer is that it is a contemporary counterfeit or Evasion. They frequently put the wrong dates for the monarch, especially on the evasions as that way they can get out of it being a counterfeit!
Yes - but it is also too light for a regal halfpenny, which should be around 9.6g. Hence it is a contemporary counterfeit or evasion. The distinction: A counterfeit is a direct copy of a regal issue coin but made with less metal or a cheaper alloy. The problem is that counterfeiting was a capital offence, so you risked getting your neck stretched, or even worse, transported to the colonies! An evasion is a loose copy that under close examination is clearly not a direct copy of the regal coin. Passing off an evasion was a less serious offence. Having the wrong king on a coin for the date made it clearly an evasion. Evasion coins were made both in the UK and in the American colonies. The latter are the most sought after as they are amongst the earliest coins made in the colonies that became the US. PS: the OP coin is definitely 1769 and therefore wrong to be with George II and so an evasion.
Thank you, you have let me know something I didn't know. Is there a site where I can look into more information on evasions. I like finding out about my coins.
http://www.thecoppercorner.com/history/evasions_hist.html https://coins.nd.edu/colcoin/colcoinintros/CtfBrit.intro.html https://coins.nd.edu/colcoin/ColCoinText/Evasion.1.html All from Google
