1723 Farth Hibernia - D:G:REX

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Description

This 1723 Wood's Hibernia Farthing features the abbreviated obverse legend D:G:REX (Dei Gratia Rex, "By the Grace of God, King"), with colons separating the abbreviated words. William Wood bought the patent to coin halfpence and farthings for Ireland from the Duchess of Kendal in 1722; it allowed 360 tons over 14 years at 30 pence to the pound, so 60 halfpence weighed a pound. The coins are dated 1722 to 1724 and show George I on the obverse and Hibernia seated with a harp on the reverse. Protest in Ireland, sharpened by Jonathan Swift's Drapier's Letters, led to the recall of the coinage, and how the pieces reached America is not documented. The 1723 farthings read either D:G:REX or DEI GRATIA on the obverse, and NGC also lists a variant without a colon. Cataloged as PCGS #173.